
Class 



'-I; 



RESENTED MY 



ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

THE 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE 

•3/1 



IN ITS 



' ELEMENTS AND FORMS. 

WITH A 

HISTORY OF ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT. 

DESIGNED FOR USE IN 

COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS. 



BY WILLIAM C. FOWLER, 

LATE PROFESSOR £F RHETORIC JN AMHERST .COLLEGE. 



NEW YORK: 
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

PEARL STREET, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1860. 







fEH>* 



■K^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and fifty-five, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of 
New York 









PREFACE 

TO THE REVISED EDITION. 



The improvements in this revised edition consist, 

I. In the addition of a large amount of New and 
Valuable Matter, with the omission of certain portions 
of the old not deemed so important. 

II. In the annexation of Questions to most of the 
chapters, for the aid both of the pupil and the teacher. 

III. In the annexation of Exercises in Analysis and 
Synthesis to each of the eight parts. In the use of 
these exercises, the learner, by taking the language to 
pieces, and by putting its component parts together, in 
eight several ways, can become intimately acquainted 
with it, in all its elements and forms. To thorough 
practice in these exercises, namely, in decomposing the 
language, and composing it in accordance with estab- 
lished principles and rules, the author attaches great 
importance. 

IV. In certain portions of it being Recast, in order 
to make it better adapted to be used as a text-book in 
classes. In some cases, where the pupils are favora- 
bly situated, the whole book can be advantageously 
studied and recited. To do this for obtaining a thor- 
ough knowledge of the English language would not 
require near as much time as is often devoted to the 
acquisition of a superficial knowledge of the Greek, the 
Latin, or the French. But in other cases, certain por- 
tions of it can be selected by the teacher for recitation, 
while other portions the learner can read at his pleas- 
ure, and consult in the way of reference. 



X PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION. 

Not long after the publication of the first edition, a 
gentleman, as well qualified as any other to appreciate 
the character of the work, said to the author, "Your 
work has been very favorably received by learned men 
and by the public generally. There is a wide opening 
for it, treating as it does of a subject which concerns 
all who speak and write the language. Why. do you 
not, in the next edition, make it a national work?" 
Such a work I have endeavored to make it. 

In preparing it for publication, I have taken great 
pains in collecting and combining the materials. I 
have consulted the best authorities in the most exten- 
sive libraries in this country and in Europe. I have 
sought and obtained the aid and advice of learned men 
and of judicious friends. I have also derived advant- 
age from those candid critics in the public prints who 
have pointed out errors or suggested improvements. 

In this edition, the sections furnished by Professor 
Josiah "W. Gibbs, LL.D., are 78, 92, 94, 159, 162, 163, 
167, 280, 290, 302, 318, 358, 359, 364, 366, 370, 374, 
381, from 383 to 422, 434 and 439. 

I can not permit this edition to go forth from the 
press without expressing my grateful acknoAvledgments 
to those learned men, whether at home or abroad, and 
to those practical teachers, who bestowed their appro- 
bation on the first edition. I may also be allowed to 
congratulate the cultivators of English philology upon 
the increasing interest that is taken in the study of the 
English language ; an interest which has evidently in- 
creased in five years, since the publication of the first 
edition of this work ; an interest which, it is hoped, 
ere long may be commensurate with the increasing 
numbers who speak and write that language as their 
mother-tongue. "W. C. F. 

Amherst, September, 1855. 



PREFACE 

TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



In preparing this work for publication, my attention 
has been constantly fixed upon the wants of the Stu- 
dents in the Higher Institutions of learning. Were 
the president of one of these institutions asked why the 
systematic study of the English language is neglected 
in his college, his reply would very likely be, '■ There is 
no suitable text-book ; our pupils, when boys, studied 
English Grammar superficially in the primary schools. 
Afterward, when older, in the academy, during their 
preparation for college, they perhaps despised it, in 
comparison with the Latin and the Greek ; and in the 
college they do not systematically study the language 
after they come to maturity. Hence it often happens 
that they go into their professional studies without a 
thorough and extensive acquaintance with their mother 
tongue. 1,1 

Ought the English language, as a study, to be con- 
fined to the lower schools, and excluded from col- 
leges ? Is there not in its matter and in its forms ; in 
its historical elements and relations ; in its grammat- 
ical and logical structure ; in its ordinary uses, whether 
by the lips or the pen, for the common purposes of life ; 
in its esthetical applications to eloquence and poetry ; 
in it, as a portraiture of the soul of the Anglo-Saxon 
race, enough to attract, and task, and reward the mind 
in the full maturity of its powers ? Besides what it 
has in common with other languages, is there not in it 
enough of inherent interest, enough of difficulty, enough 



vii PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

of fruit in disciplinal influence and practical knowledge 
to entitle it to a place in colleges by the side of the 
Classical languages as a part of a liberal education ? 
"The grammar of a language," says Locke, "is some- 
times to be studied by a grown man." 

My attention has also been directed to the wants of 
Teachers in the Primary Schools throughout our land. 
In giving instruction, questions concerning the lan- 
guage frequently arise in their minds, or are proposed 
to them by their pupils, which are not solved by the 
compendious books in use. They feel the need of col- 
lateral aid. It has been my endeavor to furnish intelli- 
gent teachers with helps for answering these questions ; 
to exhibit historical facts and reasonings not found in 
the smaller works, or, indeed, in any one work ; and 
not only to furnish rules and examples, but also to ex- 
hibit the foundation-principles of the rules, the leges 
legam of the language. In short, I have endeavored 
to furnish not only a text-book for the higher institu- 
tions, but also a reference-book for teachers in the pri- 
mary schools, which may help to give breadth and ex- 
actness to their views, and thus qualify them to impart 
oral instruction to their pupils who study some smaller 
work. 

It has also been my endeavor to furnish men in Pro- 
fessional life with a work for occasional reference or 
perusal, to keep alive and extend in their minds their 
knowledge of the principles of the language. Presi- 
dent Dwight made the remark, that "every graduate 
should keep his Murray's Grammar" — a work then used 
as a text-book in Yale College — "and read the more 
important parts of it at least once a year." Unless 
men, at least occasionally, bestow their attention upon 
the science and the laws of the language, they are in 
some danger, amid the excitements of professional life, 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION, X H\ 

of losing the delicacy of their taste and giving sanction 
to vulgarisms, or to what is worse. On this point, 
listen to the recent declarations of two leading men in 
the Senate of the United States (Mr. Webster and Mr. 
Cass), both of whom understand the use of the English 
language in its power: "In truth, I must say that, in 
my opinion, the vernacular tongue of the country has 
become greatly vitiated, depraved, and corrupted by the 
style of our Congressional debates." And the other, 
alluding to the debates in the British House of Com- 
mons, in courteous response, remarked, "There is such 
a thing as an English and a Parliamentary vocabulary, 
and I have never heard a worse, when circumstances 
called it out, on this side Billingsgate ! " 

This work I have endeavored to make such that ev- 
ery undergraduate may study it with advantage, and 
every graduate, and every intelligent man in profes- 
sional life, may keep it by him as a book of reference 
and occasional perusal for the cultivation and preserva- 
tion of a correct taste in his use of language. 

The growth of language can not be repressed any 
more than can the genial activity of the human soul. 
Especially in our own country, in this "wilderness of 
free minds," new thoughts and corresponding new ex- 
pressions spring up spontaneously to live their hour or 
to be permanent. As our countrymen are spreading 
westward across the continent, and are brought into 
contact with other races, and adopt new modes of 
thought, there is some danger that, in the use of their 
liberty, they may break loose from the laws of the En- 
glish language, and become marked not only by one, 
but by a thousand Shibboleths. Now, in order to keep 
the language of a nation one, the leading men in the 
greater or smaller communities, the editors of period- 
icals, and authors generally, should exercise the same 



X1 V PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

guardian care over it which they do over the opinions 
which it is used to express ; and, for this purpose, they 
should be familiar with works which treat of its anal- 
ogies and idioms, that they may understand what are 
the laws of normal and of abnormal growth, and by 
their own example and influence encourage only that 
which is strictly legitimate. ♦ 

Our language, as the depository of the wisdom and 
experience of past generations, we have received by in- 
heritance, to be transmitted to the ages to come cer- 
tainly enlarged, and, if possible, improved. "A man 
should venerate his native language as the first of his 
benefactors ; as the awakener and stirrer of his spirit- 
ual thoughts, the form, and mould, and rule of his spir- 
itual being ; as the great bond and medium of inter- 
course with his fellows ; as the mirror in which he sees 
his own nature, and without which he can not com- 
mune even with himself; as the image which the wis- 
dom of God has chosen to reveal itself to him. 1 ' It 
was in some such spirit and under some such impres- 
sions that the present work was undertaken at the first, 
and carried on to its completion. 

Philology has of late, especially in Germany, been 
successfully cultivated in what have been called its two 
great branches : the Philosophy of language, or the for- 
mation of words ; and the Method of language, or the 
formation of sentences. English philology has made 
great advances from the indirect contributions received 
from such men as Rask and Bosworth, Grimm and 
Bopp, Becker and Kuhner ; as well as from the direct 
efforts of such as Webster, and Latham, and Guest, 
and Kemble, and Garnet. Some of the practical re- 
sults of their investigations I have embodied in this 
work. Other materials were collected from the wide 
held of English literature while I was engaged in giv- 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. x/ 

ing instruction to classes in college. The older gram- 
marians, such as Wallis, Greenwood, and Lowth, I have 
consulted, as well as some of the modern, such as Mur- 
ray, Crombie, and Arnold. I am also under obliga- 
tion to Whately, Gray, and Mill, in logic ; and to Har- 
rison, and especially to Sir John Stoddart, in etymol- 
ogy and syntax. To Dr. Latham, late professor of the 
English language and literature in the London Uni- 
versity, something more than a general acknowledg- 
ment is due. I have read 'his works with great advant- 
age, and used them freely. 

I have also to state that I am much indebted to Pro- 
fessor J.W. Gibbs, of Yale College, who has been well 
known as a successful laborer in comparative philolo- 
gy, especially in its application to the English lan- 
guage. The sections contributed by him are 38, 39, 50, 
53, 74, 75, 76, 83, 84, 225, 308, 309, 317, 319, 324, 
328, and from 333 to 365 inclusive. 

My thanks are also due to those literary friends who 
originally advised me to undertake this work, who have 
encouraged me in its progress, or who have improved 
it by their suggestions. 

The work is divided into eight parts, in which the 
English language is presented under eight different as- 
pects. Each part is intended to be distinct in itself, 
and yet all of them, in their mutual correlation, to con- 
stitute one logical whole. A glance at the Table of 
Contents will show that the work is intended to pre- 
sent a full Grammar of the language. In the Syntac- 
tical part the laws of construction are given in the rules 
and notes, illustrated by examples. In the Exercises, 
an example of correct or of false Syntax is furnished 
for the application of each rule or note, that the learn- 
er may repeat to the teacher the rule or note which it 
suggests. It has been thought better, for the most 



xvi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

part, to present as examples forms of expression which 
are correct, rather than those which are exceptionable. 
By becoming familiar with incorrect forms of speech, 
one is in danger of falling into the use of them, even 
though he may wish to follow the rule which condemns 
them. Language is largely a matter of imitation. 
Hence we infer the importance of a familiarity with 
good models. 

The labor and the difficulty of preparing a work upon 
the language like this, in which each part shall be ex- 
hibited in its specific distinctness, and the whole in its 
generic complexity, in such a manner as at once to sat- 
isfy the ripe scholar and to attract the learner, can not 
be readily appreciated. The exactness of certain sci- 
ences should not throughout be demanded. Many facts 
and principles pertaining to the language are indeed 
settled, but in respect to others, only an approxima- 
tion to exactness can be expected. Authorities are oft- 
en divided ; those upon whom we rely may have fallen 
into error, and apparent facts often lead different schol- 
ars to opposite conclusions. 

The work, such as it is, is offered to the public, in 
the hope that it may prove a valuable help to those 
who desire a thorough acquaintance with the origin and 
history, the structure and laws, the elements and forms 
of the English language. W. C. F. 

Amherst, August, 1850. 



CONTENTS, 



PART I. 

HISTORICAL ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 



Section Page 

1. Definition of Language 33 

2. Origin of Language 34 

3. Growth of Language 35 

4. Birth-place of Language 37 

5. Primitive Language 38 

6. Value of Language 39 

7. Permanent Value of Language 40 

8. Imperfection of Language 41 

9. Decay of Language 41 

10. Death of Language 42 

11. Original Unity of Language . 42 

12. Analogies in the Gothic Fam- 

ily, showing their Affinity. 43 

13. Bopp's Views 43 

14. Miscellaneous Analogies in 

different Families of the In- 
do-European Stock 44 



Section 

15. 

16. 

17, 



Page 



Numerals 45 

Diversities in Languages 46 

Causes of Diversities in Lan- 
guages 46 

18. Study of Language 48 

19. Connection between Words 

and Things 48 

20. Connection between Language 

and History 49 

21. Discovery of the lost Meaning 

of Words 50 

22. Relations of Language to the 

Laws of the Mind 50 

23. Mutual influence of Language 

and Opinion 51 

24. Study of the English Lan- 

guage 51 



CHAPTER II. 



THE CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 



25. Remarks on Classification 

26. Schlegel's Classification 

27. Classification adopted in this 

Work 

28. Chinese Stock of Languages. 

29. Shemitic Stock of Languages 

30. Peculiarities of the Shemitic 

Languages 

Classification of the Indo-Eu- 
ropean Stock 

Synthetic and Analytic Lan- 
guages 

33. Characteristics of the Indo- 
European Languages 



31 



32 



58 



58 



58 



Sanscrit Family 59 

Iranian Family 60 

Latin Family 60 

Italian Language 60 

French Language 61 

Spanish Language 62 

Portuguese Language 62 

Wallachian, or Daco-Romano 63 
Provencal, or Romaunt Lan- 
guage 63 

Norman French 64 

Greek Family 64 

Romaic Language, or modern 
Greek 65 



B 



XV111 



CONTENTS. 



Section Page 

46. Celtic Family 65 

47. Gothic Family 67 

48. Teutonic Branch of the Gothic 

Family 67 

49. Moeso-Gothic 67 

50. High Germanic 68 

51. Low Germanic 69 

52. Frisian 69 



Section p a ge 

53. Dutch 70 

54. Old Saxon and the Piatt 

Deutsch 71 

55. Scandinavian Branch 71 

56. Slavonic Family 73 

57. Lithuanian Family 73 

58. Finnic Family 74 

59. Armenian Family 74 



CHAPTER III. 

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



60. Origin of the Ethnographical 

Elements 76 

61. Introduction of the Celtic El- 

ement 76 

62. Classification of the Celtic El- 

ements 77 

63. Introduction of the Latin Ele- 

ment 78 

64. Introduction of the Anglo- 

Saxon Element 80 

65. Character of the Anglo-Sax- 

ons 80 

66. Names of the immigrating 

Tribes 82 

67. Objections to the term Anglo- 

Saxon 83 



68. Language before the coming 

of the Normans 84 

69. Introduction of the Danish El- 

ement 85 

70. Introduction of the Anglo-Nor- 

man Element 86 

7 1 . Norman-French spoken by the 

higher Classes 87 

72. Mixture of the Races 87 

73. Why one Language is used 

rather than the other 88 

74. Scott's Description 89 

75. Influence of the Norman Con- 

quest 90 

76. Transition of the Anglo-Sax- 

on into English 91 



86. 

87. 
88. 



CHAPTER IV. 

STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



77. Specimens of Anglo-Saxon.. 93 

78. Lord's Prayer in Anglo-Sax- 

on, with a Grammatical 
Analysis 93 

79. Specimens of Semi-Saxon. __ 95 



60. Specimens of Old English.. 96 

81. Specimens of Middle English 97 

82. Specimens of Modern En- 

glish 101 

83. Recapitulation 107 



CHAPTER V. 

DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 



84. Dialects and Provincialisms 109 

85. Existing Diversities of Lan- 

guage in England 109 

Sources of existing Diversi- 
ties no 

Lowland Scotch 110 

Dialect of the Northern Coun- 
ties 110 



112 



113 



89. Dialect of East Anglia, or 

the Eastern Counties 

90. Dialect of the Southern Coun- 

ties 

91. Dialect of the Western Coun- 

ties 115 

92. Cockney Dialect 116 

93. American Dialects 119 



CONTENTS. 



XIX 



Section Page 

94. Classification of American- 

isms 120 

95. Local Peculiarities 122 



Section Page 

96. Specimens of Americanisms 123 

97. Tendencies of the English 

Language in America ... 127 



CHAPTER VI. 

CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

103. English Grammar and the 
Anglo-Saxon 134 

104. Stability of the English Lan- 
guage : 134 

105. English the universal Lan- 
guage 135 

106. Prospects of the English 
Language 136 

107. Historical Analysis 138 



98. English Language compo- 

site 130 

99. Copiousness 131 

00. Number of Anglo-Saxon 

Words in the English 
Language 132 

101. The Kind of Anglo-Saxon 

Words 132 

102. Expressiveness 133 



PART II. 

PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 



108. Definitions 141 

109. Organs of Production 141 

110. Classification of the Pho- 

netic Elements 142 

111. Vocalic or Vowel Sounds.. 142 

112. Consonantal or Consonant 

Sounds 143 

Articulate Sounds 143 

Analysis of Syllabic Sounds 143 

Surds and Sonants 144 

Continuous and Explosive 

Sounds 144 

Dr. Rush's Classification . . 144 
Table of Phonetic Elements 
in the English Language 145 
119. Explanation of the Table of 

Phonetic Elements 146 

Cognate Consonant Ele- 
ments 148 

Summation of Surd and So- 
nant Elements 148 



113. 
114. 
115. 
116. 

117. 
118. 



120. 



121. 



122. 



123. 



124. 



The Summation of Explo- 
sive and Continuous Ele- 
ments 148 

Organic Production of the 
Phonetic Elements 149 

Classification of Element- 
ary Consonantal Sounds 
according to their Organ- 
ic Formation 151 

125. Compound Sounds 151 

126. Relationship of certain Con- 

sonantal Sounds 152 

Lene and Aspirate 153 

Phonetic Elements not in 

the Language 153 

Phonetic Elements not in 

some other Languages.. 154 

130. Peculiarity of the Magyar 

Language 154 

131. Difference of Quality in the 

same Element 154 



127. 

128. 

129. 



XX 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN COMBINATION. 



Section Page 

132. Pronounceable Combina- 

tions 156 

133. Unpronounceable Combina- 

tions 156 

134. A change of Elements in 

Pronunciation 156 



Section Page 

135. Importance of the Fact first 

stated 157 

136. Accumulation of Consonant- 

al Elements 158 

137. Combinations not in the Lan- 

guage _ 158 



CHAPTER III. 



138. Syllables 160 

139. Names of Words from their 

Division into Syllables.. 160 

140. Principles of Division..... 161 

141. Rules of Syllabication 161 



COMBINATIONS IN SYLLABLES. 

142. Breath arrested and Breath 
escaping 162 

143. Combinations in Words .. . 162 

144. Monosyllabic Character of 
the English Language ... 163 



CHAPTER IV. 



ACCENT. 

145. Classical Accent 165 

146. English Accent.... 165 

147. Rules for English Accent. 166 

148. Accent on Monosyllables.. 166 

149. Accent on Dissyllables 166 



150. Accent on Trisyllables 167 

151. Accent on Polysyllables... 167 

152. Definition of Emphasis, and 
statement of its effect on 
Accent 167 



CHAPTER V. 

QUANTITY. 



153. Classic or Syllabic Quan- 

tity 169 

154. English or Vowel Quantity 169 

155. Two modes of Measurement 169 



156. Dependent and Independent 170 

157. Common Rules 170 

158. Relation of Accent to Quan- 

tity 171 



CHAPTER VI. 



EUPHONIC CHANGES. 



159. Definitions 173 

160. Euphonic Figures 173 

161. Grimm's Law of Converti- 

bility 175 

162. LawofConvertibilityinthe 

Latin, English, and Ger- 
man 175 



163. Vowel Changes 177 

164. Comparative Euphony of the 

English Language 178 

165. Plan for remedying the De- 

fect 179 

166. Causes of Diversity in Eu- 

phony 180 



CONTENTS. 



XXI 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE NATURAL SIGNIFICANCY OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS. 



Section 



167. Every Articulate Sound has naturally a Specific Import. 



Page 

182 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Section Page 

168. Definition of Orthoepy 189 

169. Orthoepy in respect to. the 

Phonetic Elements 189 

170. Orthoepy in respect to Syl- 

labication 190 

171. Orthoepy in respect to Ac- 

cent 190 



ORTHOEPY. 

Section Page 

172. Orthoepy in respect to Quan- 
tity _ 191 

173. Pronunciation 191 

174. Causes and Conditions of 
incorrect Pronunciation _ 191 

175. Doubtful Orthoepy 192 

176. Phonetic Analysis..... 195 



PART III. 

ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE RELATIONS OF ORTHOGRAPHY TO ORTHOEPY. 

77. Definitions.... 199 180. Object of a Literal Notation 200 



178. Priority of Orthoepy 199 

179. A perfect System of Literal 

Notation 199 



181. English and other Alphabets 201 

182. Classification of the Ele- 

mentary Signs 202 



CHAPTER II. 

THE RELATIONS OF THE LETTERS TO THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 



183. 


Vowel I 


jette 


rs— 


-A. 




204 


197. 


Consonant 


Letters- 


-K ... 


210 


184. 


(C 


a 




E. 




205 


198. 


it 


u 


L.._. 


210 


185. 


" 


a 




I.. 




206 


199. 


it 


a 


M ... 


210 


186. 


a 


a 




O. 




206 


200. 


it 


a 


N ... 


210 


187. 


" 


a 




U. 




207 


201. 


a 


a 


P.... 


211 


188. 


" 


a 




w. 




207 


202. 


u 


u 


Q.... 


211 


189. 


" 


a 




Y. 




208 


203. 


a 


a 


R..._ 


211 


190. 


Consonant Letters- 


-B.... 


208 


204. 


u 


it 


S.... 


211 


191. 


it 




.. 




C_._. 


208 


205. 


a 


a 


T ... 


211 


192. 


u 




u 




D ... 


209 


206. 


tt 


ti 


v.... 


212 


193. 


u 




a 




F.... 


209 


207. 


u 


it 


X ... 


212 


194. 


u 




a 




G ... 


209 


208. 


c« 


a 


Z..._ 


212 


195. 


a 




u 




H... 


209 


209. 


Equivalent 


Letters 


repre- 




196. 


u 




u 




J.... 


209 




senting certain elements. 


212 



XXII 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

DEFECTS OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET. 



Section Page 

210. It is Deficient 214 

211. It is Redundant 214 

212. It is Inconsistent 214 



Section Page 

213. It is Unsteady 214 

214. It is Inconvenient in learn- 

ing other Tongues 215 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET ACCOUNTS FOR ITS DEFECTS. 



215. Historical Defects 217 

216. Invention of Letters 217 

217. Hebrew Alphabet 218 

218. Greek Alphabet 218 



219. Roman Alphabet 219 

220. Anglo-Saxon Alphabet 220 

221. Old English Alphabet and 

the Character used 220 



CHAPTER V. 

ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXPEDIENTS. 

222. Expedients for representing the Elementary Sounds. 



222 



CHAPTER VI. 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 



223. In what Orthography con- 
sists 224 

Diversities in Orthography 224 
Inconsistencies of English 

Orthography 225 

Different Plans of Reform. 225 

Opposite Views 226 

228. Doubtful Orthography 227 

229. Usage 227 

230. Normal Use of the Letters. 228 



224. 
225. 

226. 
227. 



231. Value of silent Letters 228 

232. Etymological Facts and 

Reasons 229 

233. Analogies of the English 

Language 229 

234. Change of Pronunciation.. 230 

235. Tendency of the Language 231 

236. Grammar. 231 

237. English Grammar 232 

238. Orthographic Analysis 233 



PART IY. 

ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE PARTS OF SPEECH. 

239. Definitions 237 241. Becker's Classification 240 



240. Classification of the Parts 

ofSpeech 238 



242. Tooke's Views of the Par- 

tides 241 



CHAPTER II. 

THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 



243. The Definition 242 

244. Classification of Nouns 242 



245. Genders of Nouns ... 243 

246. Additional Facts 246 



CONTENTS. 



XX111 



Section Page 

247. English Gender, Philoso- 

phic 247 

248. English Gender, Poetic... 247 

249. Grounds for a choice of 

Gender in Personification 248 

250. Numbers of Nouns 249 

251. Formation of the Plural... 249 

252. Double Forms of the Plural 251 

253. Foreign Words 251 

254. Additional Statements 252 

255. Comparative Etymology . . 254 

256. Cases of Nouns 255 



Section Page 

257. Origin of the Term 255 

258. The Declension of English 

Nouns 256 

Inflection of the Possess- 
ive 256 

Transition from the Anglo- 
Saxon Genitive 256 

Number of Cases 257 

Import of the Genitive 258 

Comparative Etymology . . 259 
Difference between Ancient 
and Modern Languages . 260 



259. 

260. 

261. 
262. 
263. 
264. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE ADJECTIVE. 



265. The Adjective 263 

266. Classification 263 

267. Other Classifications 264 

268. Derivation of Adjectives.. 265 

269. Comparison of Adjectives. 266 

270. Simple or Terminational 

Comparison 266 

271. Compound Comparison 266 

272. Irregular Comparison 267 

273. Irregular Terminations 267 

274. Defective Comparison 268 



275. Comparison by Intensive 

Words 265 

276. Adjectives not admitting 

Comparison 270 

277. Comparative Etymology _ . 271 

278. Numerals 271 

279. Importance 271 

280. Classification 272 

281. Compound Numerals 273 

282. Plural Forms of Cardinal 

Numbers 273 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE ARTICLE. 



283. The Article.. 275 

284. Relation of the Articles to 

the Proposition 275 



285. The Article "an" or" a" __ 275 

286. The Article " the" 276 

287. Comparative Etymology . . 276 



CHAPTER V. 



THE PRONOUN. 



288. The Pronoun 278 

289. Classification 278 

290. Extent of Pronouns 279 

291. Value of Pronouns 279 

292. Personal Pronouns 280 

293. Declension of Personal Pro- 

nouns 281 

294. Comparative Etymology . . 281 

295. Declension of Personal Pro- 

nouns in the Anglo-Saxon 281 



296. Pronouns of the first Person 282 

297. Substitution of Plurality for 

Unity 283 

298. Pronouns of the second Per- 

son 284 

299. Substitution of Plurality for 

Unity 284 

300. Pronouns of the third Per- 

son 285 

301. The German Usage 286 



XXIV 



CONTENTS. 



Section Page 

302. The longer and the shorter 

Forms of the Possessive 
Case 287 

303. Self used with the Personal 

Pronouns as a Reflective 

Pronoun. 290 

304. Self a Substantive 291 

305. Self used as an Adjective. . 292 

306. " Self" emphatic 292 

307. Demonstrative Pronouns . . 292 



Section Page 

308. Comparative Etymology . . 293 

309. Relative Pronouns 294 

310. Compound Relatives 296 

311. S ubjunctive and Prepositive 

Pronouns 296 

312. Interrogative Pronouns ... 296 

313. Comparative Etymology . . 297 

314. Adjective Pronouns 298 

315. Reciprocal Pronouns 301 

316. Indeterminate Pronouns 301 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE VERB. 



317. The Verb 304 

318. Becker's Views 304 

319. Classification of Verbs 305 

320. Transitive Verbs 305 

321. Intransitive Verbs 306 

322. Attributes of Verbs 306 

323. Persons of Verbs 306 

324. Numbers of Verbs 307 

325. Tenses of the Verb 308 

326. Forms for the Present Tense 308 

327. Forms for the Past Tense. 309 

328. Forms for the Future Tense 309 

329. Forms for the Present Per- 

fect Tense 310 

330. Forms for the Past Perfect 

Tense 310 

331. Forms for the Future Per- 

fect Tense 311 

332. Modes of the Verb 311 

333. Anglo-Saxon Modes 313 

334. The Characteristics of the 

Modes 313 

335. Inflection of the Infinitive 

Mode 314 

336. Number of Modes 315 

337. Participles 315 

338. Present Participle 316 

339. Past Participle 317 

340. Conjugation 318 

341. Auxiliary Verbs 318 



342. 



343. 



344. 



345. 

346. 
347. 

348. 

349. 

350. 

351. 
352. 
353. 
354. 

355. 

356. 
357. 
358. 
359. 
360. 



Classification of Auxiliary 

Verbs 318 

Derivation of Auxiliary 

Verbs 319 

Classification of Auxiliary 
Verbs, in respect to their 

mode of Construction 321 

Conjugation of the Auxil- 
iary Verbs 321 

The Verb Substantive 324 

Conjugation of the Verb "to 

be" 325 

Ancient or Strong Conjuga- 
tion 328 

Conjugation of the Strong 

Verb "to take" 333 

Two Forms of the Subjunc- 
tive Mode 334 

Progressive Forms. 338 

Emphatic Forms 339 

Interrogative Forms 339 

Modern or Weak Conjuga- 
tion. 340 

Conjugation of the Weak 

Verb "to love" 340 

Irregular Verbs 345 

Derived Verbs 351 

Reflective Verbs 352 

Impersonal Verbs 354 

Defective Verbs 356 



CONTENTS. 



XXV 



CHAPTER VII. 



ADVERBS. 



Section Page 

361. Adverbs . 359 

362. Origin of Adverbs 360 

363. Adverbial Pronouns 361 

364. Adverbs from Concrete 

Substantives 361 

365. Adverbs from Cases. 362 



Section Paga 

366. Adverbs having the same 

Form as Adjectives 362 

367. Adverbial Phrases 364 

368. Comparison of Adverbs .. . 365 

369. Classification of Adverbs.. 365 

370. Primitive Adverbs of Place 366 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PREPOSITIONS. 



371. Simple and Compound Prep- 

ositions, with Preposition- 
al Phrases 369 

372. A List of the Prepositions. 370 



373. Origin of certain Preposi- 

tions 370 

374. Nature and Office of Prep- 

ositions 371 



CHAPTER IX. 



CONJUNCTIONS. 



375. Conjunctions 374 

376. Harris's Classification of 

Conjunctions 374 

377. Common Classification 376 



378. Office of Conjunctions 376 

379. Origin of Conjunctions 377 

380. Two Ways in which Sen- 

tences are connected 379 



CHAPTER X. 

INTERJECTIONS. 



381. Interjections 381 



CHAPTER XL 



DERIVATION. 

382. Derivation 384 391. 

383. Constituent Elements of the 

English Language 384 392. 

384. Natural Development of the 

Teutonic Portion of our 393. 

Language 386 

385. Instinctive Forms and Pro- 394. 

nominal Elements 386 395. 

386. Teutonic Stem-words or 

Roots 387 396. 

387. List of Teutonic Roots 389 

388. Teutonic Stem-nouns 390 397. 

389. Teutonic reduplicate Forms 390 

390. Teutonic Primary Deriva- 

tives 392 398. 



Teutonic Secondary Deriv- 
atives 394 

Teutonic Words with Pre- 
fixes 394 

Formation of Compound 
Words 398 

Teutonic Compounds 400 

Disguised Teutonic Deriva- 
tives and Compounds 404 

Classical Element of the 
English Language 405 

Natural Development of the 
Latin Portion of our Lan- 
guage 406 

Latin Roots 407 



XXVI 



CONTENTS. 



Section Page 

399. A List of Latin Verbal 

Roots 408 

400. Latin Stem-adjectives 408 

401. Latin Stem-substantives .. 409 

402. Latin primary Derivative 

Words 409 

403. Latin secondary Derivatives 411 

404. Latin Derivative Words 

with Prefixes 411 

405. Romanic Portion of our Lan- 

guage 413 

406. Natural Development of the 

Greek Portion of our 
Language 419 

407. Greek Roots 420 

408. List of Greek Verbal Roots 

in English 422 

409. Greek Stem-adjectives 429 

410. Greek Stem-substantives.. 429 

411. Greek Derivative Words 

with Suffixes 430 

412. Greek Derivative Words 

with Prefixes 432 

413. Greek Compound Words in 

English 436 

414. Disguised Greek Deriva- 

tives and Compounds 437 

415. Hebrew Portion of our Lan- 

guage 438 

416. Hebrew or Phoenician 

Words through the Greek 
and Latin 438 

417. Prefixes and Suffixes in 

Words derived from the 
Hebrew and Chaldaic . . . 439 



Section .rage 

418. Foreign Words 440 

419. English Words of mixed 

Origin 443 

420. Double Forms in Language 445 

421. Accidental Coincidences in 

the Formation of Words. 447 

422. Illusive Etymologies 449 

423. Diminutives 453 

424. Origin of English Surnames 453 

425. Local Surnames 455 

426. Surnames derived from Oc- 

cupation 456 

427. Surnames derived from Of- 

fice 457 

428. Surnames derived from Per- 

sonal or Mental Qualities 457 

429. Surnames derived from 

Christian Names 457 

430. Surnames from Natural Ob- 

jects 457 

431. Surnames from the Social 

Relations, etc 458 

432. Names derived from the 

Virtues, etc 458 

433. Names derived from Mis- 

cellaneous Sources 458 

434. Versatility of Proper Names 458 

435. Prefixes and Suffixes to 

Proper Names of Places 459 

436. Names of the Months 461 

437. Names of the Days of the 

Week 462 

*437. Etymological Analysis, to- 
gether with Etymological 
Synthesis.. _„ 464 



PART V. 

LOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 



438. Definitions 467 

439. Relations of Grammar, Log- 

ic, and Rhetoric 467 



440. Historical Connection 468 

411. Value of this Part of the 

Work 468 



CONTENTS. 



XXVll 



CHAPTER II. 



Section 

442. 

443. 

444. 

445. 



TERMS. 
Page 



Terms 470 

Predicables 472 

Genus and Species 473 

Abstraction and Generali- 
zation 475 



Section Page 

446. Division, both Logical and 

Physical 476 

447. Examples 478 

448. Definition consists of Genus 

and Differentia 478 



CHAPTER III. 



460. 



THE PROPOSITION. 

The Proposition 481 

The Parts of a Proposition 

not more than three 482 

The Parts of a Proposition 

not fewer than three 483 

Division of Propositions 485 

Distribution 486 

454. Conversion _ _ 487 

455. Opposition 487 

456. Simple Propositions and 

Complex 488 

457. Compound Propositions 489 

458. Indefinite Propositions 489 

459. Trifling Propositions 490 



449. 
450. 

451. 

452. 
453. 



Relation of the Proposition 
to the several Parts of 
Speech 490 

Parts of Speech which com- 
pose Simple Propositions 491 
462. Parts of Speech which can 
enter only into Complex 
Propositions 492 

Parts of Speech which do 
not enter into the struc- 
ture of Propositions 492 

Relation of certain Logical 
Forms to certain States 
of the Mind 493 



461. 



463. 



464. 



CHAPTER IV. 



ARGUMENT. 



465. Argument 496 

466. Syllogism 497 

467. TheEnthymeme 500 

468. Rhetorical Enthymeme ._ . 501 

469. Conditional Syllogisms, de- 

structive and constructive 501 

470. Sorites 502 



471. Dilemma 502 

472. Analogy 504 

473. Deduction, Induction, and 

Example 504 

474. Fallacies 504 

475. 'Examples of Fallacies 506 

*475. Logical Analysis 509 



PART YI. 

SYNTACTICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

DEFINITIONS. 



476. Definitions 511 

47? . The Relation of Syntax to 

Logic 512 



478. Grammatical Subject 512 

479. Grammatical Predicate .. . 513 

480. Figures of Syntax 513 



XXV1U 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 



Section Page 

481. Nominative Case 517 

•182. Collocation 519 

483. Possessive or Genitive Case 522 

484. Collocation 525 

485. Attributive Relation of the 

Genitive Case 525 



Section Page 

486. Objective or Accusative 

Case 527 

487. Collocation 528 

488. Apposition 529 

489. Promiscuous Exercises on 

Nouns 533 



CHAPTER III. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 



490. Syntax of the Adjective. . . 

491. Collocation of Adjectives.. 

492. Exercises in the Syntax of 

the Adjective 

493. Syntax of Pronominal Ad- 

jectives or Adjective Pro- 
nouns 

494. Syntax of Numeral Adjec- 

tives 



535 
539 

541 



543 



546 



495. 



Syntax of the Indefinite Ar- 
ticle "an" or "a" 548 

Syntax of the Definite Arti- 
cle "the" 551 

Promiscuous Exercises on 

the Adjective 555 

498. Promiscuous Examples of 
the Proper and Improper 
Use of the Articles 556 



496. 



497. 



499. 
500. 

501. 



506. 
507. 
508. 
509. 
510. 
511. 
512. 
513. 
514. 



CHAPTER IV. 

SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 



Personal Pronouns 557 

Syntax of the word " Self" 

in its construction 566 

Demonstrative Pronouns . . 568 



502. Relative Pronouns 569 

503. Interrogative Pronouns ... 577 

504. Indeterminate Pronouns 578 

505. Reciprocal Pronouns 579 



CHAPTER V. 



Concord 581 

The Verb 584 

" " 586 

" " 587 

Collocation 588 

Government of Verbs 589 

Collocation 591 

The Substantive Verb 592 

Syntax of the Infinitive 

Mode 593 



SYNTAX OF THE 

515. 
516. 
517. 
518. 
519. 
520. 
521. 
522. 



VERB. 

Infinitive Mode 595 

" 598 

Imperative Mode 599 

Subjunctive Mode 600 

Syntax of Tenses 601 

Syntax of Participles 603 

Participles 604 

Certain Uses of the Verb, 
with Explanations and 

Corrections 606 



CHAPTER VI. 

SYNTAX OF ADVERBS. 

523. Syntax of Adverbs 609 I 525. Correspondent Adverbs, to- 



524. Collocation of Adverbs. 



611 



gether with Examples . . 612 



CONTENTS. 



XXIX 



CHAPTER VII. 

SYNTAX OF PREPOSITIONS. 
Section Page i Section Page 

526. Syntax of Prepositions 6141527. Collocation of Prepositions 617 

CHAPTER VIII. 

SYNTAX OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

528. Syntax of Conjunctions ... 619 I 530. Ellipsis of the Substantive, 

529. Interjections - 622 I Adjective, Article, etc. _ „ 622 



CHAPTER IX. 

SYNTAX OF SIMPLE SENTENCES. 



531. The Syntax of Simple Sen- 

tences 629 

532. Predicative Combination . . 629 



533. Attributive Combination.. 630 

534. Objective Combination 630 

535. Parts of Sentences 630 



CHAPTER X. 

SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. 



536. Syntax of Compound Sen- 

tences. 633 

537. Co-ordinate Sentences 633 

538. Subordinate Sentences 634 

539. Development of Proposi- 

tions 636 



540. Grammatical Equivalents .641 

541. Examples of Grammatical 

Equivalents 641 

542. Exercises in Grammatical 

Equivalents - 642 

543. Translation 642 



CHAPTER XL 

RULES FOR THE CHOICE OF WORDS AND GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTIONS. 



544. Rules for the Choice of 

Words, etc 644 

545. Purity 645 

546. Barbarism 645 

547. Solecism 646 

548. Impropriety 646 



549. Syntactical Analysis 647 

550. Promiscuous Examples in 

Correct Syntax for Anal- 
ysis t _ 650 

551. Synthesis of Syntactical 

Forms 655 



PART VII. 

RHETORICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

CHAPTER I. 

DEFINITIONS. 



552. Definitions 657 

553. Eloquence in its Origin in 

the Soul 657 

554. Continued Emotion 658 



555. Source of Emotion in the 

Subject 659 

556. Emotion regulated by Judg- 

ment 659 



XXX 



CONTENTS. 



Section Page 

557. Emotion united with the 

Love of Truth 659 

558. Emotion united with strong 

Sense of Right 660 

559. The End aimed at 661 

560. Good Sense 662 

561. Distinct and Vivid Concep- 

tion 663 

562. A strong Desire to express 

Emotion 664 



Section Page 

563. A strong Will 664 

Rhetorical Forms 665 

Value of Rhetorical Forms 666 

The iEsthetical Value 667 

The Interference of Rhet- 
oric with Grammar and 

Logic 667 

Figures of Speech 668 

Rules for the Use of Figures 669 
Study of Rhetorical Forms 669 



564. 
565. 
566. 
567. 



568. 
569. 
570. 



CHAPTER II. 

DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 



571. Allegory 670 

572. Allusion 673 

573. Anaccenosis 674 

574. Anadiplosis 674 

575. Anagram 675 

576. Anaphora 675 

577. Antithesis 675 

578. Antonomasia 677 

579. Apologue or Fable 678 

580. Aposiopesis 678 

581. Apostrophe 679 

582. Catachresis 679 

583. Climax 680 

584. Anti-climax 681 

585. Ecphonesis or Exclama- 

tion 681 

586. Enigma 681 

587. Epanalepsis 682 

588. Epanorthosis 682 

589. Epizeuxis 683 



590. Erotesis or Interrogation.. 683 

591. Euphemism 684 

592. Hyperbole 684 

593. Hypotyposis 684 

594. Irony 686 

595. 
596. 
597. 
598. 
599. 
600. 
601. 
602. 



603. 
604. 
605. 
606. 
607. 
608. 



Litotes 686 

Metalepsis 687 

Metaphor 687 

Metonymy 688 

Parable 688 

Paraleipsis 689 

Paronomasia 689 

Prosopopoeia or Personifica- 
tion 689 

Proverb 690 

Repartee 690 

Sarcasm 691 

Simile 692 

Syllepsis 693 

Synecdoche 693 



CHAPTER III. 

PERSPICUITY. 

609. Perspicuity, with Causes of j 610. The Double Meaning 695 

Obscurity 694 | 611. The Unintelligible 695 



CHAPTER IV. 

LIVELINESS OF EXPRESSION. 



612. Liveliness of Expression — 

its Importance 697 

613. Rhetorical Sentences^.**. 698 



614. Constituent Parts of a Dis- 

course 699 

615. Rhetorical Analysis...... 699 



CONTENTS. 



XXXI 



PAET YIII. 

POETICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER I. 



PRELIMINARY 
Section Page 

616. Definitions 709 

617. Prosody 709 

618. Accent 709 

619. Quantity 710 

620. Elements of Musical Com- 

position 710 

621. Metre 711 

622. Measures 713 

623. Rhyme 715 

624. Imperfect Rhymes 716 



STATEMENTS. 

Section Page 

625. Double and Triple Rhymes 716 

626. Middle Rhyme 717 

627. Sectional Rhyme 718 

628. Inverse Rhyme 718 

629. Word-matching 718 

630. Alliteration 718 

631. Task Poetry 719 

632. Blank Verse 719 

633. Poetical License 720 

634. Elision 721 



CHAPTER II. 



IAMBIC 

635. Iambic Monometer, with the 

Iambic Formula 722 

636. Iambic Dimeter _ 722 

637. Iambic Trimeter 723 



MEASURES. 

638. Iambic Tetrameter 724 

639. Iambic Pentameter 725 

640. Iambic Hexameter 726 

641. Iambic Heptameter 727 



TROCHAIC 

642. Trochaic Monometer, with 

the Trochaic Formula.. 727 

643. Trochaic Dimeter 728 

644. Trochaic Trimeter 729 



MEASURES. 

645. Trochaic Tetrameter 729 

646. Trochaic Pentameter 730 

647. Trochaic Hexameter 730 

648. Trochaic Heptameter 730 



ANAPESTIC MEASURES. 

649. Anapestic Monometer 7311651. Anapestic Trimeter 732 

650. Anapestic Dimeter 731 1 652. Anapestic Tetrameter 732 



AMPHIBRACH MEASU 



653. Amphibrach Monometer _. 7321655. Amphibrach Trimeter 733 

654. Amphibrach Dimeter 733 | 656. Amphibrach Tetrameter . . 733 



DACTYLIC MEASU 



657. Dactylic Monometer, with 

the Dactylic Formula . . 734 

658. Dactylic Dimeter 734 



659. Dactylic Trimeter 735 

660. Dactylic Tetrameter 735 

661. Dactylic Hexameter 735 



xxxu 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 



COMBINED 
Section Page 

662. The Spenserian Stanza _ . . 736 

663. Gay's Stanza 736 

664. Elegiac Octosyllabics 736 

665. Octosyllabic Couplets 737 

666. Octosyllabic Triplets 737 

667. Heroic Couplets 737 

668. Heroic Triplets 737 

669. Elegiac Heroics 737 

670. Rhyme Royal 737 

671. OttavaRima 738 



MEASURES. 

Section Page 

672. TerzaRima.... 738 

673. Alexandrines. _ 738 

674. Ballad Stanza 738 

675. Rhombic Measures 739 

676. Common Metre 739 

677. Long Metre .- _ 739 

678. Short Metre 739 

679. Hallelujah Metre 740 

680. Poetical Analysis and Syn- 

thesis 740 



PUNCTUATION. 



681. 


Definition 


743 


692. 


682. 


The Comma 


743 


693. 


683. 


The Semicolon 


749 


694. 


684 


The Colon 


749 
750 


695 


685. 


The Period 


696. 


686. 


Note of Interrogation 


751 


697. 


687. 


Exclamation Point 


751 


698. 


688. 


Other Points and Marks 




699. 




the Parenthesis 


751 


700. 


689. 


Brackets 


752 


701. 


690. 


The Dash 


752 


702. 


691. 


The Caret 


752 


703. 



The Apostrophe 752 

The Accent 752 

The Hyphen 752 

The Long and Short Vowel 753 

The Diaeresis 753 

The Paragraph 753 

The Section 753 

Quotation Marks 753 

The Index or Hand 753 

The Ellipsis 753 

The Asterisk 754 

Capital Letters 754 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



PART I. 

HISTORICAL ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 



DEFINITION OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 1. Language, from the Latin word lingua, the tongue, 
through the French word langage, speech, is the utterance of 
articulate sounds of the human voice for expressing the thoughts 
and emotions of the human mind. These articulate sounds 
are, to the hearer, signs of what is in the mind of the speaker. 
This is the primary meaning of the term language. 

In a secondary sense, the term is applied to certain external 
bodily signs of the internal movements of the mind. These, 
sometimes called natural signs, are : 

1. Modifications of the features of the face, as when a frown 
expresses anger. 

2. Variations of the limbs, or gestures of the body, as when 
the upraised clinched fist expresses a threat. 

3. Modulations of the voice, as when a groan expresses pain. 

These three classes of signs, however, constituting what Cice- 
ro calls sermo corporis, though uttered and understood by all 
men, furnish a mode of communication but little above what 
brutes enjoy. In the use of them, much, indeed, was accom- 
plished by the ancient pantomimists, as likewise much has been 
done by actors, and, recently, by the teachers of deaf mutes. 
But how entirely inadequate are they, even in their most im- 
proved mode of use, to answer the ends to which speech is sub- 
servient ! 

c 



34 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

On the other hand, in the articulate sounds of the human voice 
are materials, furnished by nature, for forming a collection of 
signs fit to express the most subtile and delicate thoughts and 
emotions of the human mind. Brutes, indeed, utter certain 
sounds indicating their feelings, but these are merely vocal, not 
articulate ; they are not divided by consonants, as those of man 
are, and are the same in every division of the globe. This dis- 
tinctive characteristic of human speech is alluded to in the 
Homeric phrase, II., B. i., 250, fiEponov dvdpunuv, " articulate- 
speaking, or speech-dividing men." 

Of written language we shall speak hereafter. See § 179. 

THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE. 

§2. As to the origin of language, three opinions have been 
maintained : 

1. That language was the pure gift of Grod, conveyed in vocal 
sounds to the listening ear, as from a teacher to a pupil. 

2. That it was the invention of man, contrived for the purpose 
of communication. 

3. That it was neither the pure gift of Grod, nor an invention 
of man, but the spontaneous result of his organization, just as 
reason is. 

The argument for this last opinion is physiological. It is de- 
rived from the structure of the organs of speech, and from the 
adaptation of the soul to every part of the body, to the tongue as 
well as to the hand. In thus creating the soul to act in and 
through the body, the Deity conferred on man, from the first, not 
only the power of thought, but also, as related to it, that of speech, 
so that language is the necessary result of the constitution of 
man, and human speech and human nature are inseparable. 
Thus in his very constitution endowed by his Creator with the 
gift of speech, the first father of our race was qualified, from 
the first, to bestow names on the animals, which his Creator 
"brought before him to see what names he would give them." 
These animals received their names immediately from man, not 
immediately from God ; and, inasmuch as speech is but the 
image of the mind, we may believe that, impressed by some 
prominent attribute in each animal, he gave a name imaging his 
impression. 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 35 

According to this view, language is not the result of compact 
on the part of many, nor of inventive contrivance on the part of 
some individual, nor of an audible communication from the 
Deity, as from a teacher to a pupil, but is a natural phenome- 
non of the race, produced by an inward necessity. It is an 
emanation from the common soul of man, through the organs of 
the body, in obedience to laws as necessary as the laws of any 
other mental operation. 

Whether language was thus developed, as from a germ or pre- 
existing type, within the soul, or, according to the first opinion, 
was a pure gift supernaturally bestowed upon man at some pe- 
riod subsequent to his creation, are questions that have not been 
settled to the entire satisfaction of every competent inquirer. 
That, according to the second opinion, it was the invention of 
man, contrived for the purpose of mutual communication, is in- 
credible. On the contrary, the declaration of "William von Hum- 
boldt we can readily admit as the true view. " According to 
my fullest conviction, speech must be regarded as naturally in- 
herent in man, for it is altogether inexplicable as a work of his 
understanding in its simple consciousness. We are none the 
better for allowing thousands and thousands of years for its in- 
vention. There could be no invention of language unless its 
type already existed in the human understanding. Man is man 
only by means of speech ; but, in order to invent speech, he must 
be already man." 

We can, at least, safely assert that language is natural to man, 
inasmuch as he is capable of articulate sounds fitted to express 
thoughts and emotions, and has thoughts and emotions to be ex- 
pressed, and his social nature prompts him to express them. 

THE GROWTH OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 3. Language ever grows with the growth of thought. 

Thus the father of our race, even when he was " alone," was 
endowed with the faculty of speech as he was with that of rea- 
son, and he used it in giving names to the animals that came 
before him, as the expression of his thoughts. And when, in ac- 
cordance with the wants of his social nature, a help-meet was 
created for him, we can readily believe that his language would 
grow in its vocabulary and its constructions with the growth of 



36 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

thought and emotion, in his communications to one gifted like 
himself. In the words of Cicero, it is the nature of man not 
only qucerere socium sibi, sed velle turn docere, turn discere, 
turn audire, turn dicere. 

Whatever was the origin of language, it is not to be supposed 
that the vocabulary possessed by the first generations was more 
extensive than was necessary to express the simple ideas which 
they wished to communicate. In the progress of society, as new 
ideas were originated, new words would be invented, just as 
words are now invented when they are needed to express new 
ideas. 

That, from the first, a connection may exist between the ob- 
jective word and the subjective idea, though we do not under- 
stand the nature of that connection, is just as evident as that 
there is a connection between the body and the soul, though the 
nature of this connection is not understood. Indeed, we know 
that there is a natural connection in the case of those words, 
namely, onomatopoetic, which in pronunciation imitate the 
sounds which they indicate, the sounds being, in such cases, 
an echo to the sense ; and we can infer some such a connection 
as to large classes of other words. In the growth of language 
in the ordinary course of nature, the " only mode in which the 
voice could be made effective in raising the thought of a certain 
animal in the mind of a person ignorant of our language, would 
be to imitate the sound of the animal in question. There is a 
story of an English gentleman who, being desirous of knowing 
the nature of the meat on his plate at a Chinese entertainment, 
turned round to the native servant behind him, pointing to the 
dish with an inquiring quack, quack ? The Chinaman replied, 
bow-wow. Thus the two parties were mutually intelligible, 
though they did not understand a word of each other's lan- 
guage." In this way we can account for the existence of many 
words, like the roaring' of a lion, the mcioing of a cat, the 
clucking of hens. Upon the same principle wc can account 
for such words as to sob, to sigh ; to tramp, to ring ; to dash, 
to drum ; to rattle, to bubble ; and a great many words where 
the resemblance between the sign and the thing signified is 
more remote. 

Thus language, in its successive stages, is not made, but 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 37 

grows. As new ideas germinate in a fertile mind, they often 
come forth in new forms of expression, which sometimes become 
permanent portions of the language. Foreign terms are import- 
ed. New terms are applied to new inventions in art or new 
discoveries in science. An old term applied to a single object is 
transitively applied to other objects. A language thus grows by 
grafts from without and by germs from within. 

This law of growth in the English language is more strikingly 
seen in some epochs than in others ; as, for instance, in the time 
of Chaucer, when the language became rich in expressions of 
sensible objects and simple feelings ; as in the age of Shakspeare, 
when the "imagination bodied forth the form of things un- 
known ;" as in the time of Locke, when the language was more 
fully developed as an instrument of reason ; as in our own times, 
when it grows with the rapid growth of knowledge in the do- 
mains of natural science, mental philosophy, and the arts. 

THE BIRTH-PLACE OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 4. The birth-place of language is the birth-place of the hu- 
man race. 

Sir Humphry Davy surmised that this locality must be some- 
where near the tropics, in a genial climate. Sir William Jones 
fixed upon Persia or Iran. Adelung has concluded in favor of 
a contiguous locality, viz., the regions of the Indus, the borders 
of Cashmere and Thibet. Adelung's grounds for selecting the 
central Asiatic regions of Cashmere and Thibet are, 

1. Their geographical position and high elevation, and the di- 
rection of their mountains and rivers, which render these coun- 
tries a natural source for the diffusion of population over the 
globe. The high land of this region does not sink on one side 
only, but on all sides, and toward every point of the compass, 
and toward different oceans, to which there is access by exten- 
sive river systems. 

2. Their climate and natural productions. At his first crea- 
tion man needed a paradise. To this appellation no country in 
Asia can assert a better claim than the lovely land of Cashmere. 
Owing to its high elevation, the heat of the south is tempered 
into a perpetual spring, and Nature here puts forth all her pow- 
ers to bring all her works, plants, animals, and man, to the 



38 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

highest state of perfection. Cashmere is a region of fruitful 
hills, countless fountains and streams, which unite in the River 
Behut, that, like the Pison of Paradise, " compasseth" the whole 
land. The men of this country are distinguished among the na- 
tions by superior natural endowments, mental and physical. 
The contiguous region of Thibet also presents in a native state 
the various plants and animals which have been domesticated 
by man. Here are found for their use in the wild state, the 
vine, the rice-plant, the pea, the ox, the horse, the ass, the sheep, 
the goat, the camel, the pig, the cat, and even the reindeer, "his 
only friend and companion in the polar wastes." 

3. The ancient Indian accounts, which are corroborated by 
the Scriptural narrative. The Indian accounts, equal in antiq- 
uity, it is believed, to the scriptural narrative, actually fix the 
first abode of man on Mount Meru, on the borders of Thibet and 
Cashmere. Now from Mount Meru spring four rivers, the Gan- 
ges, the Burampoota, the Indus, and another stream which flows 
into Thibet. Now Michaelis, Adelung observes, translates Gen- 
esis, ii., 10, " Four rivers flowed out of Eden, and they separated 
continually more and more widely from each other." 

4. In these regions is the line which separates from other 
Asiatic races the nations who exhibit the Mongul or Tartar 
physiognomy. 

5. The same line separates the monosyllabic languages and 
the polysyllabic languages. The former begin in Thibet, the 
latter in Cashmere. 

6. The astronomical reasonings of Bailly. The theory of this 
astronomer is, that the various nations of the ancient world were 
descendants of emigrants from a primeval community superior 
to them in knowledge, and of which he places the locality in 
Central Asia. See Joiine's Philological Proofs of the Unity 
of the Human Race. 

THE PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE. 

§ 5. Linguists formerly sought to discover the primitive lan- 
guage as earnestly as alchemists sought for the philosopher's 
stone, and as vainly. The claims of several different languages 
to this pre-eminence were advocated by different writers, but the 
Hebrew was generally the favored one. If all languages dev 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 39 

scended from a common parent, according to the current doc- 
trine of the present time, then the question, which of them is 
the primitive language, can be dismissed as unworthy of inves- 
tigation. 

The affiliation of languages is one thing, their parentage an- 
other. Now the older linguists, when they found certain words 
to be the same in two languages, concluded that one must be 
the parent of the other, when, in fact, they were only sister lan- 
guages, moving along side by side from a common source, de- 
veloping themselves under the influence of various causes found 
in nature and society. Instead of endeavoring to discover 
whether the Hebrew, or the Dutch, or some other was the prim- 
itive language, Grotius seems to have adopted the true view, 
namely, that the primitive language is not extant any where in 
a pure state, but that its remains exist in all languages. 
"Which of the languages is nearest to the primitive language is 
an open question worthy of examination. 

On the supposition that all languages have a common origin, 
we should expect that words of prime necessity, being brought 
into use before the dispersion of mankind, would still, if any, be 
found existing in the several languages ; and such is the fact. 
Thus, words used as numerals and personal pronouns, and those 
used to express the nearest and dearest relations, like father, 
mother, brother, sister, extensively resemble each other. See 
§ 14. 

It should be added that, as out of the vain search of the al- 
chemists for the philosopher's stone grew the science of Chem- 
istry, so out of the search of the older linguists for the primitive 
language grew the modern science of Comparative Philology. 

THE VALUE OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 6. The gift of reason to the human race derives its great 
value from the gift of speech. Each is a complement of the 
other. Each would be nearly valueless without the other. 

Just conceive for a moment of a soul swelling with large 
thoughts and strong emotions in the body of a man without the 
gift of utterance. Such a soul, thus confined within walls of 
flesh, struggling in vain to come forth into communication with 
others, must, to a large extent, be isolated from human kind. 



40 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

In native intellect he may be angel-bright, in affections angel- 
lovely, but the workings of that intellect and those affections 
must be the workings of one in solitary confinement ; and the 
consciousness of this impotence must be as is the ineffectual 
struggle to speak when the nightmare sits brooding on the sleep- 
er. A single instance, however, furnishes but a faint illustra- 
tion of what would be the wretched condition of the human fam- 
ily if they were all so many mutes. Mutum et turpe pecus 
would they be. Being mute, they would, of course, be degraded. 
Speech is the deliverer of the imprisoned soul. It brings it 
into communion with another soul, so that the two become one. 
It leads the thoughts and the emotions into light and liberty. 
Words reaching from the speaker's tongue to the listening ear 
are the links of that electric chain upon which thought flies from 
mind to mind, and feeling from heart to heart, through the 
greater or the smaller circles of human society. 

THE PERMANENT VALUE OF LANGUAGE. ' 

§ 7. The gift of speech to the human race derives its perma- 
nent value from letters ; or, to use equivalent terms, spoken lan- 
guage derives its permanent value from written language. 

Summon to your memory some trifae of men gifted like others 
with reason and speech, but without the aid of letters. How- 
ever correct and bright their thoughts may be, however strong 
and graceful their emotions, however distinct and eloquent their 
expression, they must all die with the individual, or be but faint- 
ly transmitted to future generations, at last to fade entirely from* 
the memory of man, or be mingled up with fables. But let those 
same thoughts, and emotions, and expressions be recorded by 
letters and transmitted to the future, and they become the seed- 
corn in the minds of the next generation, to bear a glorious har- 
vest of new thoughts and new emotions, or, at least, a profitable 
harvest in the application of knowledge to those arts of life which 
minister to human improvement. Vox vol at. Trie voice flies 
from the lips to mingle with the winds, to be lost without an 
echo to the thought which it conveyed. Script a manent. Writ- 
ten down, it may continue sounding on, as from a trumpet-tongue, 
through all time, speaking still to the common heart of man like 
Homer, or to the conscience like Paul. 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 41 



IMPERFECTION OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 8. While language has power to express the fine emotions 
and the subtile thoughts of the human mind with wonderful ex- 
actness, still it must be admitted that it is imperfect as a sign of 
thought. It is imperfect because the thing signified by a term 
in a proposition either does not exist af all in the mind of the 
hearer, or because it exists under different relations from what 
it does in the mind of the speaker. In other words, language 
is imperfect because the term in a proposition, if it has any- 
moaning in the mind of the speaker, has a different one from 
what it has in the mind of the hearer. 

Hardly any abstract term has precisely the same meaning in 
any two minds; when mentioned, the same term calls up dif- 
ferent associations in one mind from what it does in another. 
Thus the word %dpi(; (grace) has, in Schleusner's Lexicon, thir- 
teen different meanings. The phrase " beast of burden" might, 
to one mind, mean a horse ; to another, a mule ; to another, a 
camel. 

What is thus true of the vocabulary of a language is also true 
of its constructions ; they also, in each case, call up different as- 
sociations in different minds. It should be added that there is 
great vagueness in the common use of language, which, in prac- 
tice, increases its imperfection as a medium of thought. 

But while men differ in the meaning which they attach to 
certain classes of terms and of constructions, they also, when 
they have carefully studied a language, largely agree ; so large- 
ly, that they can make their agreement the sure basis of reas- 
oning and of action on important subjects. 

DECAY OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 9. As languages grow, so they decay. As old modes of 
thought give place to new ones, so the forms in which those 
modes are expressed give place to new forms. Thus the lan- 
guage grows and decays at the same time, just as in nature, 
out of the decay of vegetation, other forms of vegetable life spring 
up. Out of the decay and death of the Latin sprang the Ro- 
manic languages. Out of the decay and death of the Anglo- 
Saxon sprang the English. Out of the decay and death of the 



42 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Old Slavonic sprang the Russian. In the progress of a nation 
from the employment of hunting to that of the shepherd and 
then to that of commerce, there is, at each step, a death of 
some words and the birth of new ones. The same law obtains 
in the change from one form of government or of religion to 
that of another ; as, for instance, a change from kingly govern- 
ment in England to that of a republican government in the 
United States. 

THE DEATH OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 10. As languages have a life, which, like the life of an In- 
dividual, may be written, so they die, and are numbered only 
with the things that were. They may, indeed, still exist in 
manuscript or on the printed page, but not on the lips of men. 
They may be embalmed in the hearts and memories of students, 
but they know no resurrection into the voices of the people. 
This is true of the Sanscrit, of the Greek, of the Latin, of the 
Anglo-Saxon. These are dead languages. They are in a petri- 
fied state, and they exhibit the " modes of thought of the people 
who spoke them, and their relations to other rages, as fossil re- 
mains show the forms and relations of animal life." Thus lan- 
guages die, but portions of them exist by transmission in other 
languages. Thus portions of the Latin exist in the Romanic 
languages, portions of the Greek in the Romaic, portions of the 
Sanscrit in the Hindostanee, portions of the Anglo-Saxon in the 
English. Thus languages, though dead, live in their descend- 
ants, as men, though in their graves, live in their posterity. 

THE ORIGINAL UNITY OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 11. The original unity of language is indicated, 

1. By the supposed unity of the human race, of which there 
is satisfactory evidence. 

2. By the declaration in Genesis, that the whole earth was 
" of one language and one speech." 

3. By the analogies and affinities among the different lan- 
guages, pointing to a common origin. 

Affinities among languages may be seen either in their sim- 
ilarity of construction, in which case the proof is grammatical, 
or in the similarity of words themselves, in which case the proof 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 43 

is lexical. Of the former kind of proof the Comparative Gram- 
mar of Bopp furnishes examples. Occasional examples will be 
given in the part on etymology in this work. Only the latter 
kind of proof can be here adduced, as sufficiently satisfactory 
and more convenient. When, for instance, in Sanscrit we find 
tiama, and in Latin nomen, both meaning name ; nasa in the 
one, nasus in the other, both meaning nose ; ganu in the one, 
and genu in the other, both meaning knee ; and when we find 
this similarity between a great many words in the two languages, 
we are necessarily led to infer that a relationship exists between 
the two languages. The same kind of reasoning may be ex- 
tended to several languages of the same family, or to several 
families of the same stock, to prove an affinity between them. 



§ 12. ANALOGIES IN THE GOTHIC FAMILY, SHOWING 




THEIR 


AFFINITY. 








Eng. 


A.-S. Dut. Frs. 


Ger. Moes. 


Dan. 


Swed. 


leel. 


A fish, 


fisc, visch, fisk, 


fisch, fisk-s, 


fisk, 


fisk, 


fisk-r. 


A fish's, 


fisc-es, visch-es, fisk-es, 


fisch-es, risk-is, 


fisk-s r 


fisk-s, 


fisk-s. 


To a fish, 


fisc-e, visch-e, fisk-e, 


fisch-e, fisk-a, 


fisk, 


fisk, 


fisk-i. 


A fish, 


fisc, visch, fisk, 


fisch, fisk, 


fisk, 


fisk, 


fisk. 


Fishes, 


fisc-as, visch-en, fisk-ar, 


fisch-e, fisk-os, 


fisk-e, 


fisk-ar, 


fisk-ar. 


Fishes', 


fisc-a, visch-en, fisk-a, 


fisch-e, fisk-e, 


fisk-es. 


, fisk-ars, 


fisk-a. 


To fishes, 


fisc-um, visch-en, fisk-um, 


fisch-en, fisk-en, 


fisk-e, 


fisk-ar, 


fisk-um. 


Fishes, 


fisc-as, visch-en, fisk-ar, 


fisch-e, fisk-ans. 


, fisk-e, 


fisk-ar, 


fisk-a. 




BOPP 


' S VIEWS. 






• 



§ 13. " Philology would ill perform its office if it accorded an 
original identity only to those idioms in which the mutual points 
of resemblance appear every where palpable and striking ; as, for 
instance, between the Sanscrit dadami, the Greek dldoj/it, Lith- 
uanian dumi, and Old Slavonic damy. Most European langua- 
ges, in fact, do not need proof of their relationship to the San- 
scrit, for they themselves show it by their forms, which, in part, 
are but little changed. But that which remained for philology 
to do, and which I have endeavored, with my utmost ability, to 
effect, was to trace, on the one hand, the resemblances into the 
most retired corner of the construction of the language, and, on 
the other hand, as far as possible, to refer the greater or the less 
discrepancies to laws through which they become possible or nec- 
essary. It is, however, of itself evident, that there may exist 
languages which, in the interval of thousands of years in which 



44 



HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



they have been separated from the sources whence they arose, 
have, in a great measure, so altered the forms of words, that it 
is no longer practicable to refer them to the mother dialect, if it 
be still existing and known. Such languages may be regarded 
as independent, and the people who speak them may be consid- 
ered Autochthones." — Bopp's Compar. Grammar, vol. i., p. 74. 

It should be added that the real difference in languages is not 
so great as is indicated by the different characters different na- 
tions employ in expressing the same sounds. No one can doubt 
that the word water in one language is the same as the word 
wasser in another, though the characters employed are not all 
of them the same in each case. 

It should also be added that the analogies between languages 
of different stocks are still a matter of remote deduction. Phi- 
lologists are now industriously gathering materials for a broad 
induction, by which they are expecting to prove that affinities 
exist between different stocks, just as they have already proved 
that affinities exist between different families of the same stock. 



14. MISCELLANEOUS ANALOGIES IN DIFFERENT 
FAMILIES OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN STOCK. 



English. | 


Sanscrit. | Greek. 


Latin. 


Slavonic. 


Gothic. 


Celtic. 


Father 


pitri 
Z. paitar 
P.pader 


rrdrep 


pater 


bat 


O.H. 
L. G. 


G. vatar 
fader 


Er. athair. 


Mother 


matri 


fidrep 


mater 


mater 


G. 


mutter 


Er. mathair. 


Brother 


bhratri 
Z.bratar 
P. brader 


lirjrep 
(j>parep 


frater 


brat 


M. G. 


brothar 


Er. brathair. 


Sister 


swasri 




soror 


sestra 


M. G. 
G. 


swistar 
schwester 


Er. suir. 


Eye 


akshi 


OKKO 


oeulo 


oko 


M. G. 


augo 




Sun 


heli 


i'/Xio 


sol 


Lith. saule 


M. G. 


sauil 


W. haul. 


Night 


nisa 


VVKT 


noct 


noc 


M. G. 


nahts 


Er. nochd. 




naktam 






Lith. naktis 
Lett, nakts 
Russ. notch 


G. 


nacht 


W. nos. 


Day 


dyu 


6lo 


diu 

diurno 

die 


deu 

Lith. diena 
Lett, deena 


M. G. 


dags 


Er. di, dia. 


Young 


yuvan 




juveni 


januii 


G. 


yung 


W. jau. 


To think 


man 


fiev 


min or men 


nyen 


G. 


meinen 


W. menu. 




manas 


{ILfiVT/GK 


memini 


Lith. men 


Eng. 


mean 


(mind). 




(mind) 
















Z.man 














I 


aham 


eyuv 


ego 


az 


M. G. 


ik 




Thou 


twam 


TOW, TV 


tu' 


ty 


thu 




Me 


mam 


pe 


me 


mja 


M. G. 


mik 


Arm. inc. 


You 


( yuyam 
( yushme 


vppeo > 
fipelc ) 


vos 


vy 


M. G. 


egus 


\rin. chuy. 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 



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46 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

DIVERSITIES IN LANGUAGES. 

§ 16. While affinities among languages have to he sought 
with painful care over a wide field, diversities are obvious, and 
have to be accounted for. 

Three opinions have existed in respect to the origin of the di- 
versities in languages. 

One opinion proceeds, on the supposition that there were 
originally several distinct stocks of the human race, to the 
conclusion that there were as many distinct languages as 
stocks. 

A second opinion is, that the confusion of tongues at the 
Tower of Babel will, by its miraculous origin and agency, ac- 
count for the diversities in human languages, just as the flood 
has, by some divines, been considered as a cause adequate to the 
production of certain geological irregularities which are found in 
the structure of the earth. 

On the assumption that languages were originally one, a 
third opinion is, that causes novo in operation will account for 
the existing diversities. 

CAUSES OF DIVERSITIES IN LANGUAGES. 

§ 17. These causes are, 

1. Difference of occupation. The vocabulary of a shepherd 
must differ from that of a mariner. 

2. Difference of improvement in sciences and the arts of life. 
The man of science must increase the number of his terms as 
he becomes acquainted with new facts. 

3. Difference of climate, both by bringing different classes of 
objects before the mind, and by producing different effects upon 
the organs of speech. 

Hence it happens that, when two races of men of a common 
stock are placed in distant countries, the language of each be- 
gins to diverge from that of the other in various ways. 

1. One word will become obsolete and lost in the one race, 
and another word in the other. 

2. The same word will be differently applied by two distant 
races of men, and the difference will be so great as to obscure 
the original affinity. 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 47 

3. "Words will be compounded by two nations in a different 
manner. 

4. The pronunciation and orthography of the same word will 
be different, especially by the use of convertible consonants. 

These statements appear to be sustained by facts. On the 
authority of Rask, the ancient Scandinavian, the Danska Tun- 
ga, or Old Norse, was, in the ninth century, the common speech in 
Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, where now there are 
great diversities. The progress of these diversities can be sat?- 
isfactorily traced from that period to the present time. These 
diversities extend to all those features in which it is possible for 
one language to differ from another, viz., to words, grammar, in- 
flections, arrangement of words in sentences. " In the various 
kingdoms and provinces in which it was once spoken, different 
portions of the parent speech have been abandoned or preserved." 
Hence it follows that the primitive language of Scandinavia, or 
" Danska Tunga" does not exist entire in any one, but is dis- 
persed in all its derivative dialects, illustrating the fate of the 
primitive language of the world, as intimated by (xrotius. 
See § 5. 

This last opinion, namely, in respect to the causes now in op- 
eration, does not interfere with the supposition that the " confu- 
sion of tongues" may have hastened the diversities in language, 
if it did not originate them. 

The general topic of this section can be fitly closed by a quo- 
tation from that distinguished philosopher, William von Hum- 
boldt : " The true solution of the contrast of stability and fluc- 
tuation which we find in language lies in the unity of hu- 
man nature" " No one assigns precisely the same meaning to 
a word which another does, and a shade of meaning, be it ever 
so slight, ripples on like a circle in the water through the en- 
tirety of language." " "We must regard speech not so much as 
a dead begotten, but rather a begetting ; we must abstract 
from what it is as a designation of objects, and a help to the 
understanding ; on the contrary, we must go back more care- 
fully to a consideration of its origin, so nearly connected with 
the subjective mental activity, and to its reciprocal action there- 
upon." " Even its preservation by means of writing keeps it 
only in an incomplete, mummy-like fashion, in which it can get 



48 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

vitality only by timely recitation. In itself it is not an Zpyov, 
but an evtpyeia" It is not, in itself, a completed work, but it is 
an internal energy in the soul begetting new creations. 

THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE. 

§ 18. There is the same reason for the study of language that 
there is for the study of thought. 

It is by means of language that the thoughts and emotions 
of one mind are projected upon another. Language is the me- 
dium through which the object of thought in the mind of the 
speaker or writer is exhibited to the hearer or the reader, and 
the object is projected upon the receiving mind in an image that 
is true, distinct, and, bright, or in one that is distorted, blurred, 
and dim, according as that mind is acquainted or not with the 
medium. If language is only expressed thought, or the "in- 
carnation of thought," and if thought is the copy of things, then 
the value of things becomes transferred to language, or, rather, 
is connate with it. As a matter of fact, so entirely are words 
the exponents of the thought, and purpose, and character of him 
who uses them, that they form the ground of judging of char- 
acter for ourselves in our estimate of each other, and for God in 
his estimate of us all. " Out of the abundance of the heart the 
mouth speaketh." " By thy words shalt thou be justified, and 
by thy words shalt thou be condemned." It is true that there 
is a difference between words and things as well as an identity. 
" Things are the sons of God, and words are the daughters of 
men ;" still, practically, they are so wedded to each other that 
they are one. 

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WORDS AND THINGS. 

§ 19. Such is the connection between words and things, that 
a thorough study of language makes the student acquainted both 
with those minds of which it is the expression, and with those 
objects to which it is applied. 

A language borrows its character, first, from the minds of 
those who use it in view of the objects to which it is applied, 
and, secondly, from the objects with which it is associated. The 
language of a nation is the accumulation of the experience, the 
wisdom, and the genius of a nation. " The heart of a people is 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 49 

its mother tongue," and it is only by learning that mother tongue 
that you can know that heart. It is only while listening to the 
" thoughts that breathe and the words that burn," from the lips 
of her poets and her orators, her historians and her dramatists, 
that you can feel that heart beating responsive to your own. 
The great events that have shaped the destiny of that nation, 
the master-minds who infused their own spirit through the mass 
of the people, whatever relates to the government, religion, arts, 
moral sentiment, and social life, you can see distinctly portrayed 
in the language as you can see them nowhere else, even after 
that nation is extinct, and the language itself numbered with 
the dead. 

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND HISTORY. 

§20. It is, too, only by means of their language that we are 
able to trace the history and migration of the early inhabitants 
of the world. Describing philology as it was at the end of the 
last century, says Niebuhr, in his preface to the History of Rome, 
" It had recognized its calling to be the mediator between the 
remotest ages, to afford to us the enjoyment of preserving through 
thousands of years an unbroken identity with the noblest and 
greatest nations of the ancient world, by familiarizing us, through 
the medium of grammar and history, with the works of their 
minds and the course of their destinies, as if there were no gulf 
that divided us from them." In this way, fleeting as language 
in itself may be, it has raised for the primeval history of man 
more lasting monuments than those of stone or brass. 

The study even of the English language, developing the mean- 
ing of names of the prominent objects of nature, which are sig- 
nificant in the Celtic, the solid substratum of Teutonic, the terms 
of war and government in the Norman-French, the Latin terms 
in ecclesiastical use, would enable us, in the absence of other 
histories, to draw inferences in respect to the early condition of 
England, and even now enables us to verify many of the doubt- 
ful statements of written history. Even the names of places 
would tell us much. When we hear a stream called Wans- 
beck-water, and know that the three words of which the word 
is made up each signify " water," the first being Celtic (as in 
Wansford, Avon), the second German (beck = back), we at once 

D 



50 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

recognize three changes of inhabitants to whom the former name 
successively lost its significance. See Donalson's New Cra- 
tylus. 

THE DISCOVERY OP THE LOST MEANING^OF WORDS. 

§ 21. In the flow of centuries, words often lose their meaning 
by being used in new applications ; and to disinter that mean- 
ing out of the alluvium and drift of ages, and bring it up to the 
light, affords as much pleasure to the linguist as to disinter a 
fossil does to the geologist. In digging down from the surface 
to the original meaning of words, applied first to some physical 
object, and then to a spiritual one, he often meets with this 
" fossil poetry," which is to him a medal of the nation, or of the 
race, just as the other is to the geologist a " medal of the crea- 
tion." The word God means the Deity; but in the original 
Anglo-Saxon, besides this, it also meant good, or the Good. 
The word man, in English, means a human being, but in the 
Anglo-Saxon original its meaning, besides this, was sin, or the 
sinful. The full history of language would be a history of the 
human race. " He," says Niebuhr, " who calls departed ages 
back again into being, enjoys a bliss like that of creating. The 
philologer does this." 

RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE TO THE LAWS OF THE MIND. 

§ 22. The careful study of language can not fail to make the 
student acquainted with the laws of the human mind. The 
origin and formation of words, and the structure of sentences, 
as exhibited in etymology and syntax, taken as a whole, are but 
a counterpart of those mental phenomena which have been col- 
lected and classified by the masters of mental science. The 
laws of suggestion, of memory, of imagination, of abstraction, of 
generalization and reasoning, are distinctly exhibited, not merely 
in the higher specimens of eloquence and poetry, but also in the 
common forms of language ; so that there is truth in the remark, 
" that we might turn a treatise on the philosophy of mind into 
one on the philosophy of language by merely supposing that 
every thing said in the former of the thoughts as subjective is 
said again in the latter of the words as objective." 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 51 



MUTUAL INFLUENCE OF LANGUAGE AND OPINION. 

§ 23. The study of language is necessary in order to under- 
stand the influence which language and opinion have upon each 
other. The opinion entertained of an object influences the mind 
in the application of a term to that object, and the term, when 
applied, influences the opinion. Call thunder " the bolt of (rod's 
wrath," and you excite the emotion of terror, as if it were an 
instrument of destruction. Call it, like the Grerman peasant, 
the " dear thunder," das Hebe gewitter, and you excite a differ- 
ent emotion. " The good old man is passing along the air," der 
gute alte faehret. The good old man is God, and his passing 
along the air is thunder. Here Grod is presented to us under the 
aspect of a benefactor. ' ' From the black cloud he makes bare 
his red, wrathful hand." Here Grod is presented to us under the 
image of a destroyer. "When Schiller, in his boyhood, climbed 
the tree in the thunder-storm, was it not that he might get 
nearer the " good old man ?" As illustrating the connection be- 
tween language and opinion, "It is a significant circumstance ? 
that no large society of which the language is not Teutonic 
(Grothic) has ever turned Protestant, and that wherever a lan- 
guage derived from ancient Rome is spoken, the religion of mod- 
ern Rome to this day prevails." — Macaulay's England, p. 64. 

THE STUDY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

§ 24. From the general relations of language considered in 
this chapter, we gather an argument of great power in favor of 
carefully studying one's own language, whether for its own 
sake as an end, it being a subject of great intrinsic interest, or 
for its uses and applications to the great purposes of life. To an 
Englishman or an American, the study of the English language 
offers a twofold advantage, to wit, in the mental discipline it 
furnishes, and in the knowledge it imparts. The discipline he 
can obtain without the necessity of studying a foreign language. 
The knowledge gained is appropriate to him as an Anglo-Saxon, 
embodied as it is in his native tongue. " If language is the out- 
ward appearance of the intellect of nations, if their language is 
their intellect and their intellect their language," then, by study- 
ing the English language, he becomes acquainted with theintei- 



52 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

lect of the Anglo-Saxon race, while his own intellect is improved 
by the disciplinal process through which the study must lead 
him. By studying the language, he is brought into contact, and 
thus into close sympathy with the race who have written and 
spoken it. By understanding and using it in its full power, he 
becomes a teacher, a leader of those of the race who hear or 
read his words. Thus he at once takes possession of the in- 
heritance bequeathed to him from past generations, constantly 
becoming more valuable by the contributions of the present; 
and, at the same time, he qualifies himself to use that inherit- 
ance for his own advantage and that of others, and to transmit 
it, enriched and improved, to future generations. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER I. 

1. What is the derivation of the word language? 

2. What is the primary meaning of the term 1 

3. What is the secondary meaning of the term ? 

A. Will you mention the three classes of signs which constitute language 
in the secondary sense 1 

5. Compare language in the primary sense with language in the secondary 
sense as a sign of thought and emotion. 

6. Mention the three opinions with respect to the origin of language. 

7. Give the argument for the third opinion, with a full statement of the 
opinion itself. 

8. Is language stationary or progressive 1 

9. Explain the growth of language as connected with the growth of thought. 

10. Is there any natural connection between words and the ideas which 
they represent 1 

11. Give examples of onomatopoetic words. 

12. Give illustrations of the law of growth in the English language. 

13. Where is the birth-place of language? 

14. Give the opinion of Sir Humphry Davy, and of Sir William Jones, 
and of Adelung. 

15. State the grounds of Adelung's opinion. 

16. What do you say concerning the search for the primitive language ? 

17. In what condition does the primitive language exist ? 

18. What do you say of the value of language as related to reason ? 

19. From what is the permanent value of language derived ? 

20. State your author's views of the imperfection of language, and in what 
respects it is imperfect. 

21. Describe the decay of languages. 

22. Describe the death of languages. 



THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF LANGUAGE. 53 

23. What are the three arguments to prove the original unity of language 1 

24. Give instances of the affinities of languages. 

25. Exhibit Bopp's views of philology. 

26. State the three opinions which have prevailed in respect to the origin 
of the diversities of languages. 

27. State the causes of the diversities in languages. 

28. Mention the ways in which diversities of languages take place. 

29. What reasons can you give for the study of language ? 

30. From what does a language borrow its character ? 

31. What relation does language bear to history? 

32. What does your author say of the lost meaning of words ? 

33. Describe the relation of language to the laws of the human mind. 

34. Describe the mutual influence of language and opinion. 

35. Mention the advantages of the study of the English language. 



54 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 

§ 25. Languages are so numerous that a classification is ab- 
solutelely necessary in order to a convenient consideration of 
them. A classification can be made only so far as the affinities 
and diversities among them are known. In the present state 
of comparative philology, a full classification of all the languages 
spoken on the globe is quite out of the question. So little is 
known of the Chinese, the Japanese, the Tartar, the Malay, and 
of many other languages, that only a general classification can 
be expected until the study of ethnography shall throw addition- 
al light upon comparative philology. 

schlegel's classification. 
§ 26. The following classification, proposed by A. W. von 
Schlegel, and adopted by Bopp, is in a high degree logical and 
satisfactory : 

I. Languages with monosyllabic roots, but incapable of com- 
position, and, therefore, without grammar or organization. To 
this class belong the Chinese stock, in which we have nothing 
but naked roots, and the predicates and other relations of the 
subject are determined merely by the position of words in the 
sentence. 

II. Languages with monosyllabic roots, which are suscepti- 
ble of composition, and of which the grammar and organization 
depend entirely on this. In this class the leading principle of 
the formation of words lies in the connection of verbal and pro- 
nominal roots, which in combination form the body and the soul 
of the language. To this belongs the Sanscrit family and all 
other languages not included under I. and III., and preserved in 
such a state that the forms of the words may still be resolved 
into their simplest elements. 

III. Languages which consist of dissyllabic verbal roots, and 
require three consonants as the vehicles of their fundamental 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 55 

signification. This class contains the Shemitic languages only ; 
its grammatical forms are produced not merely by composition, 
as is the case with the second, but also by means of a simple 
internal modification of roots. 

CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED IN THIS WORK. 

§ 27. The common classification, founded partly on ethno- 
logical and partly on linguistical principles, is adopted in this 
work, as practically more convenient. 
I. The Chinese stock of languages. 
II. The Shemitic stock of lansfuasres. 

III. The Indo-European stock of languages. 

IY. The African stock of languages. 
Y. The American stock of languages. 

YI. The Oceanic or Polynesian stock of languages. 

It has been found that the average number of persons speak- 
ing the same language is greatest in the civilized divisions, 
thus indicating a tendency in civilization toward a unity of lan- 
guage. This tendency is strongly manifested in the most civ- 
ilized nations of Europe, namely, the English, the French, the 
(xermanic nations, inasmuch as science, religion, travel, and 
commerce produce extensive intercourse with each other. The 
ancient tendency was to diversity, the modern is to unity, of 
language. And if, in the early ages of the world, causes were 
in operation elsewhere, as well as on the plains of Shinar, which 
produced a confusion of tongues in the human race, we are pre- 
pared to believe that causes are now in operation which will 
produce an opposite result. 

European and American commerce is finding its way to 
China and Japan, and to every region where man is found, and 
is thus making a common medium of intercourse necessary. 
The missionaries of the cross, in preaching one Lord, one faith, 
one baptism, one God as the father of all, not only are promot- 
ing the sense of universal brotherhood through the race, but 
also the unity of language. Thus we can believe that if " one 
song shall employ all nations," one language shall be the prin- 
cipal medium of intercourse. 



56 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



THE CHINESE STOCK OF LANGUAGES. 

§ 28. This is a type of the languages comprised in the first 
class given by Schlegel. The grand peculiarity of this is, that in 
the written language, the words or characters are not, as in our 
own, representatives of certain sounds, hut symbols of ideas. 
It contains no alphabetical letters, in our sense of the term. 
Every written character is an entire word, and every word is a 
monosyllable. 

The written symbols may be divided into four kinds. The 
first class comprehends those which originally were rude picto- 
rial representations of visible objects, though now the resem- 
blance has been almost lost. The second class consists of sym- 
bols of complex ideas, which were formed by an ingenious 
combination of more elementary symbols. The third class com- 
prises those symbols which may be termed phonetic characters, 
inasmuch as there is a slight analogy between them and our 
alphabetic system of compounding sound. The fourth class 
comprises those symbols which may be considered as of arbi- 
trary formation. 

The absence of an alphabet has deprived the Chinese of an 
important means of preserving a uniformity of spoken language 
through any part of the empire. A native of China would be 
altogether unintelligible, speaking his local patois, at a distance 
of two hundred miles from home ; and yet, like Arabic figures 
in Europe, the written character is every where the same 
throughout the whole of China, though in reading and speaking, 
the local pronunciation becomes, in fact, a separate language. 

The Chinese prefer their mode of speaking to the mind 
through the eye, by means of visible signs, as superior to spo- 
ken words addressed to the ear. Indeed, so far do they carry 
their attachment to this mode of communication, that it is not 
uncommon there to see men conversing rapidly together by 
tracing characters in the air. 

THE SHEMITIC STOCK OF LANGUAGES. 

§ 29. The Shemitic languages have by philologists been long 
classed together, because there is an agreement among them- 
selves, and a diversity between them and other languages. 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 57 

Spoken by the descendants of Shem, from which circumstance 
they derive their name, they were native in Palestine, Phoenicia, 
Syria, Mesopotamia, and Arabia, from the Mediterranean to the 
Tigris, and from the Armenian Mountains to the south coast of 
Arabia. The Shemitic class of languages consists of three prin- 
cipal divisions. 

1. The Arabic ; to this belongs the Ethiopic, as a branch of 
the southern Arabic. The Koran is written in this language. 

2. The Aramean, in the north and northeast. It is called 
Syriac in the form in which it appears in the Christian Ara- 
mean, but Chaldee as it appears in the Aramean writings of the 
Jews. To the Chaldee is closely allied the Samaritan, both ex- 
hibiting frequent admixture of Hebrew forms. The Targums 
are composed in this language. 

3. The Hebrew, with which the Canaanitish and Phoenician 
stand in connection. The sacred Scriptures are in this language. 

"With the ancient Egyptian, from which the Coptic is derived, 
the Shemitic came in many ways into contact in very early 
times. The Coptic, therefore, which, with some others, is sup- 
posed to be of Hamitic origin, has much in common with the 
Shemitic. 

PECULIARITIES OF THE SHEMITIC LANGUAGES. 

§ 30. Some of the peculiarities of the Shemitic class are : 

1. Most of the radical words consist of three consonants. 

2. The verb has only two tenses, the preterit and the future. 

3. The noun has only two genders. 

4. Scarcely any compounds appear in verbs or nouns except 
proper names. 

5. Only the consonants were given in the line as real letters. 
Of the vowels, only the longer ones, and even these not always, 
were represented by certain consonants. 

6. These languages, with the exception of the Ethiopic, are 
always written from right to left. The Shemitic languages are 
adapted to narration, to poetry, to the description of objective 
realities, but not to the exhibition of subjective experience, the 
deductions of logic, or the truths of philosophy. They had lit- 
tle to part with, and, of necessity, have handed down to suc- 
ceeding ages what they were endowed with at starting. 



58 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

The Shemitic languages have furnished important materials 
to the English language. See § 415. 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE IND O-E UROPEAN STOCK. 

§ 31. The Indo-European stock of languages, sometimes 
called the Japhetic, is subdivided into the following families: 
1, the Sanscrit ; 2, the Iranian or Persian ; 3, the Latin ; 4, 
the Greek ; 5, the Celtic ; 6, the G-othic ; 7, the Slavonic ; 8, 
the Lithuanian ; 9, the Armenian ; 10, perhaps the Finnic, Tar- 
tarian, and some others. 

SYNTHETIC AND ANALYTIC LANGUAGES. 

§ 32. " The term synthetic is employed to distinguish those 
languages in which, it is customary to express with one word 
both the existence of a thing or action and its relation to other 
things in space and time, as ftlice ; Ovyarepog ; feci ; est ; from 
such languages as reduce an idea to its elements, each of which 
requires a separate word, as, of the daughter ; fat fait ; he 
is ; which are called analytic. Thus the Sanscrit, the Greek, 
the Latin, are synthetic languages, while the English and the 
French are analytic languages. 

" Where synthetic languages have at an early period been fixed 
by books, which served as models, and by a regular instruction, 
they have retained their form unchanged ; but where they have 
been abandoned to themselves, and exposed to the fluctuations 
of all human affairs, they have shown a natural tendency to be- 
come analytic, even without having been modified by the mix- 
ture of any foreign language." 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IND O-E UROPEAN LAN- 
GUAGES. 

§ 33. In comparison with the Shemitic, the bond which em- 
braces this stock of languages is not less universal, but in most 
of its bearings of a quality infinitely more refined. " The mem- 
bers of this race inherited, from the period of their earliest youth, 
endowments of exceeding richness, and with a system of unlim- 
ited composition and agglutination. Possessing much, they are 
able to bear the loss of much, and yet to retain their local life ; 
and by multiplied losses, alterations, and displacements, the 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 59 

members of the common family are become scarcely recogniza- 
ble to each other." — Bopp's Comparative Grammar. The re- 
ceived opinion is, that these languages took their origin from a 
common parent, namely, a language spoken somewhere in the 
central or southern part of Asia, not far from the birth-place of 
man, and that they spread from thence into Europe. Hence 
the term Indo-European. 

THE SANSCRIT FAMILY. 

§ 34. This word Sanscrit refers not to the locality where it 
was spoken, or to the nation that spoke it, but to the character 
of the language. It is equivalent to the term Classical. It is 
derived from that common parent just mentioned, and is itself 
the mother of the present languages of India, namely, the Hindos- 
tanee, the Bengalee, the Pali-Mahratta, &c. The name is from 
sam, "altogether," and krita, "completely done," "perfected." 
This very name points to an antecedent state of the tongue, be- 
fore it had become settled, and not entitled to the appellation 
" completely formed." Sir "William Jones says, " The Sanscrit 
language is a wonderful structure ; more perfect than the Greek, 
more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than 
either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in 
the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could have 
been produced by any accident; so strong, indeed, that the 
philologer could not examine them all without believing them 
to have sprung from a common source." 

It has five vowels, twenty-three consonants, and an alphabet 
of fifty characters. It has three numbers, three genders, eight 
cases ; namely, the nominative, vocative, dative, accusative, ab- 
lative, locative, instrumental, and genitive. It has two voices : 
one of which, the active, has two forms, one of them being re- 
flexive, corresponding to the middle voice in Greek. It has ten 
conjugations, five modes, six tenses, all formed by inflection. 
Its Syntax is logical and simple. It is itself a dead language, 
and is studied in India as the Latin and the Greek are with us. 
It is regarded as the most composite, flexible, and complete lan- 
guage known. It was spoken only by the privileged classes, 
while the common people spoke the Pacrit, the "spontaneous" 
tongue. This ancient tongue once prevailed throughout all 



60 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Hindostan, from the Bay of Bengal to trie Arabian Sea, and 
from the southern extremity of the country to the Himalaya 
Mountains in the north. The Sanscrit, the Zend, and the Class- 
ical stocks, may well be called, as they have been, " the lan- 
guage of the immortals." The Vedas, the Laws of Menu, the 
Sacontala, are among the works extant in this language. 

THE IRANIAN FAMILY. 

§ 35. This is the ancient language of Persia, the sacred idiom 
of the Magi. It is sometimes called the Zend. Coming from 
the same source as the Sanscrit, it spread itself among the wor- 
shipers of the Sun, and is the parent of the several dialects now 
spoken in Persia. It was in this language that the Zendavesta 
was composed by Zoroaster, fragments of which still remain. 

THE LATIN FAMILY. 

§ 36. The Latin is the language which was spoken in Italy 
by the Romans. It is more ancient than the Greek, and is the 
mother tongue of the Roman languages, namely, the Italian, 
French, Spanish, Portuguese, "Wallachian, and the Provencal. 

SPECIMEN OF THE LATIN. 

1 . In principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus 
erat verbum. 2. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. 3. Omnia per 
ipsum facta sunt ; et sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est. 
4. In ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum. 5. Et lux in tene- 
bris lucet, et tenebrse earn non comprehenderunt. 6. Fuit homo 
missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Joannes. 7. Hie venit in testimonium, 
ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per ilium. 
— St. John, chap, i., v. 1-7. 

THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE. 

§ 37. This is the Latin language in new forms, produced by 
the union of its ancient elements with the languages of the 
northern nations, which came into Italy as conquerors. Of the 
various languages produced by the union of Latin with northern 
languages, the Italian is the softest and the most harmonious. 
In receiving the Latin, it was governed by true principles of 
euphony. Two consecutive consonants occurring in a Latin 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. §\ 

word are not allowed to stand in Italian ; but generally, for the 
sake of euphony, the repetition of the one consonant is substi- 
tuted for the other, as in the Latin words obviare, acto, facto, 
which, in Italian, become ovviare, atto, fatto. All consonants 
which interfere with the established principles of euphony are 
totally rejected. Hence we find, in Italian, fiore for flore ; fiocco 
for fiocco. 

SPECIMEN OF THE ITALIAN. 

1. Nel principio la parola era, e la parola era appo Iddio, e la 
parola era Dio. 2. Essa era nel principio appo Iddio. 3. Ogni 
cosa e stata fatta per essa : e senza essa niuna cosa fatta e stata 
fatta. 4. In lei era la vita, e la vita era la luce degli uomini. 5. 
E la luce riluce nelle tenebre, e le tenebre non 1' hanno compresa. 
6. Vi fu un' uomo mandato da Dio, il cui nome era Giovanno. 7. 
Costui venne per testimonianza, affin di testiraoniar della Luce, 
acioche tutti credessero per lui. — St. John, chap, i., v. 1-7. 



THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 

§ 38. The French language was formed by the union chiefly 
of the Latin with the Celtic, and was, from the number of Ro- 
man words and elements, called the Romance. About the tenth 
century, it diverged into two principal dialects, the langue cPoc, 
spoken in the south, and the langue d?oil. During the thir- 
teenth century, the langue (Foil became the language of the 
court and capital of France, and superseded the langue d)oc. 
It is in the habit of contracting the Latin words which enter 
into its composition. This it often does by omitting one of the 
internal consonants : thus, ligare, in French, is converted into 
Her, laudare into louer, sudare into suer. In point of con- 
struction, the French is remarkable for its clearness and uni- 
formity, and its idiomatic phrases are particularly concise and 
expressive. 

SPECIMEN OF FRENCH. 

1. Au commencement etait la Parole, et la Parole etait avec Dieu ; 
et cette Parole etait Dieu. 2. Elle etait au commencement avec Dieu. 
3. Toutes choses ont ete faites par elle, et sans elle rien de ce qui 
a ete fait n'a ete fait. 4. En elle etait la vie, et la vie etait la lu- 
miere des hommes. 5. Et la lumiere luit dans les tenebres, mais 



62 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

les tenebres ne l'ont point recue. 6. Il y eut un liomme appele 
Jean, qui fut envoye de Dieu. 7. II vint pour rendre temoignage, 
pour rendre, dis-je, temoignage a la lumiere, afin que tous crussent 
par lui. — St. John, chap, i., v. 1-7. 

THE SPANISH LANGUAGE. 

§ 39. The Spanish language more closely resembles the Latin 
than any other of the Romanic languages. It appears that the 
Cantabrian, the ancient language of the country > disappeared, 
and the Latin was almost exclusively spoken for centuries. This 
was greatly modified by the Grothic tongue, and afterward, in 
some degree, by the Arabic, while the Goths and Moors in suc- 
cession held possession of Spain. Latin words are subjected to 
the following changes : The vowel o is generally changed into 
tie, as in dona, duena ; cor, cuer ; porta, puerta. "When double 
consonants occur in Latin words, one of them is dropped in 
Spanish; and i is generally placed before e in the interior of 
words, as in mandimento, Sp. mandemiento. It retains much 
of the dignity of the Latin. 

SPECIMEN OF SPANISH. 

1. En el principio era el Verbo, y el Verbo estaba con Dios, y el 
Verbo era Dios. 2. El estaba en el principio con Dios. 3. Por el 
fueron hechas todas las cosas : y sin el no se ha hecho cosa alguna de 
cuantas han sido hechas. 4. En el estaba la vida, y la vida era la 
luz de los hombres. 5. Y esta luz resplandece en las tinieblas, y las 
tinieblas no la han recibido. 6. Hubo un hombre enviado de Dios, 
que se llamaba Juan. 7. Este vino como testigo, para dar testimo- 
nio de la luz, a fin de que por medio de el todos creyesen. — St. 
John, chap, i., v. 1-7. 

THE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE. 

§ 40. The Portuguese language originated under the same 
circumstances as the Spanish. It is less guttural, but harsher 
and more unpleasing in sound than the Spanish. It has a class 
of words not found in the Spanish vocabulary, but which are 
supposed to be drawn from the dialects spoken on the coast of 
Barbary. The Latin words which have been incorporated in 
the language have undergone the following changes : the letter 
x, when final, is generally changed into z ; as paz, voz y luz t 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. (53 

perdiz, from pax, vox, lux, perdix. PI, when initial, is changed 
into ch, as plaga, chaga. The letter r, when in the middle of 
words, is often substituted for /, as craro for claro; obrigar> 
obligar. 

SPECIMEN OF PORTUGUESE. 

1. No principio era o Verbo, e o Verbo estava com Deos, e o Verbo 
era Deos. ' 2. Elle estava no principio com Deos. 3. Todas as cousas 
forao feitas por elle : e nada do que foi feito, foi feito sem elle. 4. 
Nelle estava a vida, e a vida era a luz dos homens. 5. E a luz 
resplandece nas trevas, e as trevas nao a comprehenderao. 6. Houve 
hum homem enviado por Deos, que se chamava Joao. 7. Este veio 
por testemunha, para dar testemunho da luz, a fim de que tcdos cres- 
sem por meio delle. — St. John, chap, i., v. 1-7. 

THE WALLACHIAN, OR DACO-ROMANO. 

§ 41. The "Wallachian language, now spoken in what was a 
part of ancient Dacia, retains so many Latin words, that a 
stranger, speaking in Latin, can render himself tolerably intel- 
ligible to the inhabitants. About half of the words have been 
borrowed from the Greek, the Turkish, and the Slavonian. The 
character used in printing is peculiar, differing both from the 
Roman and the Greek. 

THE PROVENCAL, OR ROMAUNT LANGUAGE. 

§ 42. This language was spoken in the south of France, and 
is so called in distinction from the Norman French, which was 
spoken in the north of France. A modification of this language 
.was spoken by the Waldenses. 

SPECIMEN OF THE PROVENCAL. 

1. Lo filh era al comensament; el nlh era am Dieu, et fllh era 
Dieus. 2. Aquest era al comensament am Dieu. 3. Totas causas 
foron fachas per el : e nenguna causa non fon fach senz el. 4. So 
que fon fach era en lui vida, e la vida era lus dels homes. 5. E la 
lus en tenebras e tenebras non comprehenseron lui. 6. Oms fon 
trames de Dieu local avia nom Johan. 7. Aquest venc en testimoni 
que dones testimoni de lum, que tug crezessan per el. — St. John, 
chap, i., v. 1-7. 



64 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



THE NORMAN FRENCH. 

§ 43. This language was spoken in the north of France. It 
is of later origin than the Provencal. The poets in this language 
were called Trouveres, as the poets in the Provencal were called 
Troubadours. A generation before the Norman Conquest, a Nor- 
wegian chieftain, named, in his own country, Rolf, and in 
France, Rollo, settled upon the coast of Normandy. "What 
Hengist and the Germans were in England, Rollo and his Scan- 
dinavians were in France. The province, before called Neustria, 
took from them the name of Normandy." — Latham. 

SPECIMEN OF NORMAN FRENCH. 

Philippe de Thaun en Franceise raisun 

Ad estrait Bestiare, un livere de gramaire, 

Pur l'onur d'une gemme, ki mult est bele femme. 

Aliz est nuraee, jeine est corunee : 

Reine est de Engleterre ; sa ame n'ait ja guere ! 

En Ebreu, en verete, est Aliz laus de De. 

Un livere voil traiter ; Des sait al cumencer ! 

The Bestiary of Philippe de Thaun. 

ENGLISH. 

Philippe de Thaun into the French language 

Has translated the Bestiary, a book of science, 

For the honor of a jewel who is a very handsome woman. 

Aliz is she named, a queen is she crowned : 

GLueen she is of England ; may her soul never have trouble ! 

In Hebrew, in truth, Aliz means praise of God. 

I will compose a book ; may God be with its commencement ! 

THE GREEK FAMILY. 

§ 44. The Greek language was spoken in ancient Greece in 
its several dialects, as the Attic, the Ionic, the Doric, the iEolic. 
It is the parent of the modern Greek. It has furnished impor- 
tant contributions to the English. 

SPECIMEN OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

1. 'Ev dpxrj tjv 6 Aoyog, /col 6 Xoyog r)V 7rpoc rbv Qebv, kcu Qebg 
ijv 6 Aoyoc. 2. Ovrog rjv ev dpxxj rrpoc rbv Qeov. 3. Hdvra 61 
avrov eytvero • naX x^plg avrov tytvero ovde tv, o yeyovev. 4. 'Ev 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. Q$ 

avro) ^(x>r\ rjv, Kal rj ^G)ij rjv to (ptig t&v dvdpu)TT(*)v . 5. Kal to <£g5c 
ev rrj GKoria cpaivei, teal rj cfcoria avro ov nareXafiev. 6. 'EytVero 
dvdpunog dfreoTaXfievog irapd Qeov, bvofxa avroj ludvvrjg. 7. QvTog 
i]X6ev elg fiapTvpiav r Iva \iapTVpr\Gi) irepl tov (jxorbg, Iva Trdvreg 
tugtevouol 61 avTOv. — St. John, chap. i., v. 1—7. 



THE ROMAIC LANGUAGE, OR MODERN GREEK. 

§ 45. The Romaic language, or its equivalent, the modern 
Greek, is the vernacular language of about 1,180,000 descend- 
ants of the ancient Greeks dispersed through the Turkish em- 
pire, or residing in the kingdom of Greece. The modern king- 
dom of G-reece contains a population of about 900,000. The 
language preserves a much nearer identity with the ancient 
Greek language than the Romanic languages do with the Latin. 

The term Romaic arose from the name Romaioi, or Romans, 
applied to the Greeks during the period of their subjection to 
the Roman Empire of Constantinople. 



SPECIMEN OF THE ROMAIC. 

1 . Etc ri]v dpxt]v tjtov o Xoyog • Kal 6 Xoyog rjrov \iera Qeov Kal 
Oebg tjtov 6 Xoyog. 2. ^rovrog tjtov elg rrjv dp%TjV jierd Qeov. 
3. "OXa ra ixpayuaTa Sid \ieGov tov Xbyov eyivrjicav, real x^plg avTbv 
dev eyive naveva uti eytve. 4. Etc ai)Tov tjtov £«?}, Kal tj £,g)tj tjtov 
to (fttig Tu>v dvdp£j7TG)V. 5. Kal to 0g5c elg rrjv GKOTeiav (peyyet Kal r) 
GKOTeiadevTO KaTaXa(3e. 6. "~Eycvev evag dvdpG)irog dneGTaXfievog 
drcb tov Qebv, to ovofia tov 'lojdvveg. 7. 'Etovtoc TjXOev elg fiapTvpt- 
av vd \LapTvpiG7] did to (p&g TUGrevGOV oXoi did \hiGov avrov. — St. 
John, chap, i., v. 1-7. 

THE CELTIC FAMILY. 

§ 46. These languages were spoken by the Celts, or Kelts, 
who are supposed to have migrated from Asia at some early pe- 
riod, and to have been impelled onward by successive emigra- 
tion, until they found their way to the western part of Europe, 
to Spain, to G-aul, and to Great Britain. One branch of this 
stock has been called the Medo- Celtic, containing the Erse, 
Gaelic, and Manx. The other has been called the Perso-Celtic, 
containing the Welsh, the Cornish, and the Armorican of Brit- 
tany in France. 

E 



66 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Celtic. 



Ancient Irish. 
Ancient Gaulish. Ancient British. 



I I I ! 

Erse, Gaelic, Manx. 

Welsh. Cornish. Armorican, or or 

or Irish. Highland Scotch. 

Bas Bretagne. 

Formerly the Celtic dialects were supposed to have no con- 
nection with the Indo-European languages. The researches of 
Dr. Prichard, in his work on the " Eastern Origin of the Celtic- 
Nations," may he considered as having settled the question the 
other way. 

The Celtic languages are incomplete in grammatical inflec- 
tions when compared with the Sanscrit, the Teutonic, and the 
classical languages. 

The Welsh has many words found in the Latin, while the 
Latin and Greek have many Celtic words. The Cornish closely 
resembles the Welsh, and is now extinct as a spoken language. 
The Armorican, or Breton, also closely resembles the Welsh. It 
is spoken by about 800,000 people, 500,000 of whom do not 
understand French. These three languages, derived from the 
ancient British, belong to what is called the Cymric branch. 

The Erse, or Irish, is now spoken by illiterate portions of the 
Irish. It is thought that there are 600,000 who can speak no 
other language. It was once the language of literature and 
science. " The English," says Camden, " recently flocked to 
Ireland as the mart of sacred learning." The language of the 
Highland Scotch, or the Gaelic, is spoken by about 400,000 in the 
Highlands and the western isles of Scotland. It strongly re- 
sembles the Irish. The Manx language is spoken in the Isle of 
Man, in which there are nearly 50,000 inhabitants. The En- 
glish is, however, the predominant language. The Erse, the 
Highland Scotch, and the Manx, constitute the Gaelic, in the 
broad sense of the term. 

SPECIMEN OF THE WELSH. 

1. Yn y dcchreuad yr oedd y Gair, a'r Gair oedd gyd a Duw, a 
Duw oedd y Gair. 2. Hwn oedd yn y dechreuad gyd a Duw. 3. 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 67 

Trwyddo ef y gwnaethpwyd pob peth ; ac hebddo ef ni wnaethpwyd 
dim a'r a wnaethpwyd. 4. Ynddo ef yr oedd bywyd ; a'r bywyd 
oedd oleuni dynion. 5. A'r goleuni sydd yn llewyrchu yn y tywy- 
llwch ; a'r tywyllwch nid oedd yn ei amgyffred. 6. Yr ydoedci 
(rwr wedi ei anfon oddi wrth Dduw, a'i enw loan. 7. Hwn a ddaeth 
yn dystiolaeth, fel y tystiolaethei am y Goleuni, fel y credai pawl 
trwyddo ef. — St. John, chap. L, v. 1-7. 

THE GOTHIC FAMILY. 

§ 47. The G-othio tribes followed the Celts as early as 680 
B.C. The term Gothic is taken from the name of those tribes 
in the north of Europe that were best known to the Romans 
The older writers say that it is derived from the word gath, 
good or brave. We have high authority for using the term in 
this wide sense, though there is some inconvenience attending it, 
inasmuch as it sometimes has also been used instead of Mosso- 
Gothic. The language which the descendants of those tribes 
spoke was divided into two branches, namely, the Teutonic and 
the Scandinavian. 

THE TEUTONIC BRANCH. 

§ 48. This branch of the Gothic family falls into three divis- 
ions, namely : 1. The Mceso-Gothic. 2. The High Germanic. 
3. The Low G-ermanic. 

THE MffiSO-GOTHIC, 

§ 49. The ancient Goths occupied the island of Gothland and 
the southern shores of the Baltic, and were in contact with the 
ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons, who emigrated to Britain, and 
spoke the same or a similar language. Early in the Christian 
era, a portion of them, leaving their ancient seats, established 
themselves on the coasts of the Black Sea. A section of these, 
called the Visigoths, or West Goths, being oppressed by the 
Huns, induced Ulphilas, their bishop, to implore the protection 
of the Roman Emperor Valens, in A.D. 376. He pleaded their 
cause so successfully, that they were permitted to cross the 
Danube and occupy the country of Mcesia. They were hence 
called Mwso-Goths. Their bishop having thus secured far 
them the peaceful possession of that country, that he might lead 



68 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

tilery to the fountain of Christian truth, translated for them, be- 
tween A.D. 360 and 380, the Bible into the Gothic language. 
This language is, in fact, the pure German of that period, which 
the Goths had carried into Moesia. This is the earliest German 
dialect now in existence. The most famous of the remaining 
fragments of this translation is the Codex Argenteus, or Silver 
Book, so called from being transmitted to us in letters of a sil- 
ver hue. The words appear to be formed on vellum by metallic 
characters heated, and then impressed on silver foil; some of 
the capital letters are of gold. It is now in the royal library at 
Upsal. This language is rich in grammatical forms, and ex- 
hibits the common bond which unites all the German dialects 
with each other, and their connection with the Sanscrit, the 
Zend, and the Classical stock. The suggestion has been made, 
that it may be regarded as the parent of the Anglo-Saxon, in 
some such sense as the latter is the parent of the English. 

SPECIMEN OF THE MCES O-G O T H I C . 

1. Atta unsar thu in Himinam. Yeihnai namo thein. 2. Q,ui- 
mai thuidinassus theins. 3. Vairthai vilja theins, sue in Kimina, 
jah ana airthai. 4. Hlaif unsorana thana sinteinan gif mis himma- 
daga. 5. Jah afFet uns thatei sculans sijarma sua sue jah veis 
ofletam thaim skulem unsaraim. 6. Jah ni bringais uns in frais- 
tubnjai. Ak lausei uns of thamma ubilin. Amen. — Ulphilas, 
Version of the Lord's Prayer. 

THE HIGH GERMANIC. 

§ 50. The High Germanic, to which the current German be- 
longs, is spoken in the south part of Germany, and is bounded on 
the east by the Lithuanic, Slavonic, and Hungarian languages ; 
while on the south it touches the Italian and French, and on 
the north it joins the Low Germanic divisions. The transla- 
tion of the Scriptures, by Luther, in the sixteenth century, and 
his other writings, gave a prominence to this dialect, which it 
retains. In this dialect there are writers distinguished in every 
branch of literature and science. 

The origin of the term German is not well ascertained. The 
word has, by some, been supposed to be connected with the 
Latin word germani— brothers, tribes in brotherly alliance 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 69 

with the Romans. Others derive it from gar— a dart, and 
man = dart-man. 

SPECIMEN OF THE HIGH GERMANIC. 

1 . Unser Vater in dem himmel. Dem nahme werde geheiliget. 
2. Dein Reiche komme. 3. Dein wille gescheche auf erden wie im 
himmel. 4. Unser taeglich brodt gib as heute. 5. Und vergib uns 
unsere schulden, wie wir unsern schuldigem vergeben. 6. Und 
fuehre uns nicht in versuchung. 7. Sondern erloese uns von dem 
libel. Amen. — Lord's Prayer. 

THE LOW GERMANfC. 

§ 51. The Low Germanic comprises, 1. The Anglo-Saxon and 
the Modern English. 2. The Old and the Modern Frisian. 3. 
The Modern Dutch. 4. The Old Saxon and the Piatt Deutsch. 
Specimens of the Anglo T Saxon and of the Modern English will 
be given hereafter. 

THE FRISIAN. 

§ 52. The Frisians occupied a territory immediately south 
and west of the country of the Anglo-Saxons, and probably spoke 
nearly the same dialect. Encompassed on one side by the sea, 
and on the other by the Saxons, they have retained their ancient 
dialect to a remarkable degree ; so that in the opinion of that 
distinguished scholar, Francis Junius, who spent two years in 
those parts of Frisia noted for their tenacity of old manners and 
language, none of the German tongues approach so closely to 
the Anglo-Saxon as the Frisian. A careful comparison of the 
two languages, whether in the grammar or the lexicon, will 
lead us to the same conclusion. 

They still live in Friesland, and, as their language formerly 
resembled that of the Anglo-Saxons, so it now bears a close re- 
semblance to the English. 



Frisian. 

Age, 
Haved, 


Anglo-Saxon. 

Eage, 
Heafod, 


English. 

Eye. 

Head. 


Kind, 


Cild, 


Child. 


Nacht, 
Dede, 


Niht, 
Daed, 


Night. 
Deed. 


Nose, 


Nasu, 


Nose. 


Sla, 
Gunga, 


Slean, 
Gangan, 


Slay. 

go (Gang) 



•o 



HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



THE ORIGINAL, BY THE COUNTESS 
OF BLESSINGTON, IN THE BOOK 
OF BEAUTY, 1834. 

What art thou, Life 1 
A weary strife 

Of pain, care, and sorrow; 
Long hours of grief, 
And joys — how brief! 

That vanish on the morrow. 

Death ! what art thou, 
To whom all bow, 

From sceptred king to slave ? 
The last, best friend, 
Our cares to end, 

Thy empire is in the grave. 

When all have fled, 
Thou giv'st a bed, 

Wherein we calmly sleep : 
The wounds long healed, 
The dim eyes sealed, 

That long did w T ake and weep. 



TRANSLATION IN COUNTRY-FRISIAN 
IN ITS PRESENT STATE. 

Hwat bist dou, Libben? 
Ien wirch stribjen 

Fen pine, noed in soarch ; 
Lange oeren fen smerte, 
In nochten — ho koart ! 

Det ford wine de moarns. 

Dead, hwat bist dou, 
Ta hwaem alien buwgje, 

Fen de scepterde kening ta de slawe T 
De laetste, baeste freon, 
Om uws soargen to eingjen, 

Dyn gebiet is yn't graef. 

Wenneer se alien binne fled, 
Jouwst dou ien baed, 

Waer wy kalm yn sliepe : 
De wounen alle hele, 
De digerige eagen segele, 

Dy lang diene wekje in gepje. 



THE DUTCH. 

§ 53. The Dutch language is spoken in Holland. The dis- 
tinguishing characteristic of this language is descriptive energy. 
It is not soft and musical ; it is dignified, sonorous, and emphatic. 
It has great compositive power ; all technical terms, which the 
English borrow from exotic names, from the Greek and Latin, 
are composed, by the Dutch, from their own indigenous roots. 
Almost every polysyllabic word is descriptive of the object which 
it designates. Astronomy is, in Dutch, sternkunde, from ster, a 
star, and kuncle, science. Grammar is taalkunde, from taal, 
language, kunde, science. In this respect, the Dutch is much 
superior to the English. There, is, however, a striking affinity 
between our language and the Dutch. 



SPECIMEN OF THE DUTCH. 

1 . In den beginne was het woord, en het woord was bij God, en 
het woord was God. 2. Dit was in den beginne bij God. 3. Alle 
dingen zijn door hetzelve gemaakt, en zonder hetzelve is geen ding 
gemaakt, dat gemaakt is. 4. In hetzelve was het leven, en het 
leven was het licht der menschen. 5. En het licht schijnt in de 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 71 

duisternis, en de duisternis heeft het niet begrepen. 6. Daar was 
een mensch van God gezonden, wiens naam was Johannes. 7. 
Deze kwam tot een getuigenis, om van het licht te getuigen, opdat 
zij alien door hem gelooven zouden. — St. John, chap, i., v. 1-7. 

OLD SAXON AND THE PLATT DEUTSCH. 

§ 54. The Piatt Deutsch is spoken by those whose ancestors 
spoke the Old Saxon, in Northern Germany, in Holstein, in 
Sleswick, and Brunswick. The most nourishing period of this 
language was just before the Reformation. The Old Saxons, 
chiefly remaining in their ancient localities, retained their low, 
soft dialect in great purity. The Anglo-Saxons, a branch of the 
Old Saxons, wrote and matured their language in England ; 
hence it differs both from the Old Saxon, and also from the 
Piatt Deutsch. 

SPECIMEN OF PLATT DEUTSCH. 

As dat beer is in den man, 
Is de wyshet in de kan. 

As (when) the beer is in the man, 
The wisdom is in the can. 

THE SCANDINAVIAN BRANCH. 

§ 55. The Scandinavian branch of the Grothic stock compre- 
hends, 1. The language of Iceland. 2. The language of Den- 
mark, Sweden, and Norway, with their dialectical differences. 
3. The language of the Faroe Islands. 

These languages all sprang from the Old Danish (Danska 
Tunga). This Old Danish, sometimes called the Old Norse, 
was, in its present state, carried into Iceland by the first Nor- 
wegian refugees in the ninth century, and embalmed there 
among the snow and ice. There is so little difference between 
the present writing and the most ancient records, that modern 
Icelandic scholars can read the oldest documents with the great- 
est facility. The present Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish dia- 
lects all differ so much from the Icelandic, that they would each 
of them be unintelligible to an Icelander. 



72 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



SPECIMEN OF THE PRESENT DANISH, 

Kong Christian stod ved hoien mast 

I rog og damp. 
Hans vserge hamrede saa fast, 
At Gothens hielm og hierne brast, 
Da sank hver fiendtlight speil og mast 

I rog og damp. 
Flye, skreg de, flye, hvad flygte kan! 
Hvo staaer for Danmark's Christian 

I kamp ? 

Niels Juel gav agt paa stormens brag; 

Nu er det tid ! 
Hon heisede det rode flagg 
Og slog paa tienden slag i slag 
Da skreg de hoit blant stormens brag 

Nu er det tid ! 
Flye, skreg de, hver, som vee et skiul 
Hvo kan bestaae for Danmark's Juel 

I strid ? 

Johannes Evola* 

ENGLISH. 

King Christian stood by the lofty mast 

In mist and smoke. 
His sword was hammering so fast, 
Through Gothic helm and brain it passed, 
Then sank each hostile hulk and mast 

In mist and smoke. 
Fly, shouted they, fly, he who can ! 
Who braves of Denmark's Christian 

The stroke I 

Niels Juel gave heed to the tempest's roar ; 

Now is the hour ! 
He hoisted his blood-red flag once more, 
And smote the foe of the Dane full sore, 
And shouted loud through the tempest's roar, 

Now is the hour ! 
Fly, shouted they, for shelter, fly ! 
Of Denmark's Juel who can defy 

The power ? 
Translated by Prof. Longfellow, Bosworth's Dictionary, 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 73 



THE SLAVONIC FAMILY. 

§ 56. The Slavonic stock of languages was spoken by those 
emigrating tribes which came out of Asia about 450 B.C., and 
who were the ancestors of the Russians, Poles, Servians, and Bo- 
hemians. 

It is said that the Old Sanscrit type is more faithfully pre- 
served in the Slavonic than in the Latin or the Greek. Like 
the Sanscrit, the Old Slavonic possesses three numbers, three 
genders, seven cases, a perfect system of prefixes and affixes, 
and an unlimited power of forming compound words. " Of the 
three sisters," says Dankovsky, " one kept faithful to her mother 
tongue — the Slavonic ; the second gave to that common heritage 
the highest cultivation — the Greek ; and the third mixed the 
mother tongue with a foreign idiom — the Latin." The author 
of Eothen remarks of it, "I think the Old Slavonic language, 
as spoken in Servia, the most perfect of the living European lan- 
guages. It has quite the power and the honesty of the German 
language, and a philosophical grammar." Besides genuine in- 
definite verbs, as they call all those which have the general char- 
acter of verbs in other languages, the Russian has verbs simple, 
frequentative, or a perfect : thus, verb indefinite, dvigat, to 
move; verb simple, dvinut, to move a single time; verb fre- 
quentative, dvigivat, to move repeatedly ; verb perfect, sdvigat, 
to move completely. See Historical View of the Languages 
of Slavic Nations, by Talvi, p. 17, 18. 

THE LITHUANIAN FAMILY. 

§ 57. This family was formerly classed with the Slavonic. 
The researches of Bopp have given it prominence. It is spoken 
in Lithuania, formerly a part of Poland, but now subject to Rus- 
sia, by a population which amounts to more than 2,000,000. 
It was formerly spoken in Prussia, but is now extinct in that 
country. It is at the present time spoken only by the peas- 
antry, Polish being the language of the middle and upper classes. 
Thus excluded from the influences of refinement and civilization, 
it has preserved its peculiar structure more faithfully than most 
of the other languages of its stock. It has retained seven cases, 
three numbers, three genders ; and of all the languages spoken 



74 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

in Europe, it is acknowledged to approximate nearest to the 
Sanscrit. 



THE FINNIC FAMIL Y. 

§ 58. The Finnic languages prevail through a large portion 
of the Russian empire, occupying the northern part of the Scan- 
dinavian peninsula, and extending from Lapland and the Baltic 
beyond the Ural Mountains. It is supposed that Europe was 
first colonized by nations belonging to this race, and that their 
descendants, after having been settled in the more fertile regions 
of that continent, were driven to the extreme north and west, 
where we at present find them, by the successive tides of in- 
vaders, Celtic, Pelasgic, (xothic, and Slavonic, who subsequently 
passed from Asia into Europe. 

The Magyar language spoken in Hungary shows clearly its 
connection with the Finnic family. It is surpassingly beautiful 
in uniformity of character and melody of sound. 

The Basque language was originally spoken by the Iberi, a 
people generally regarded as the earliest settlers in Spain. It 
exhibits remarkable traits of analogy with the Finnic and with 
several languages spoken in the north of Europe and Asia. It 
is spoken in three provinces of Spain on the north of the Bay 
of Biscay, and in the southwestern extremity of France, with 
certain dialectical differences, indicated by the terms Spanish 
Basque and French Basque. 

The Turkish language, though not generally classed with the 
Indo-European, may be noticed in this connection. In its nu- 
merous dialects it is more or less diffused through the vast re- 
gions which extend from the Mediterranean to the frontiers of 
China, and from the shores of the Frozen Ocean to Hindostan. 
" Rich, dignified, and melodious, in delicacy and nicety of ex- 
pression it is not, perhaps, surpassed by any language ; and in 
grandeur, beauty, and elegance, it is almost unequaled." 

THE ARMENIAN FAMILY. 

§ 59. The ancient Armenian language is no longer vernacu- 
lar, yet it is generally studied by Armenian Christian scholars. 
It is a harsh language, and is remarkable for having no distinc- 
tions of gender even in the pronouns. Modern Armenian is di- 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 75 

vided into two "branches, the eastern and the western, of which 
the eastern is the purest. The total number of the Armenian 
nation has been estimated to be 2,000,000. 

From the classification and brief description of languages in 
this chapter, we can the better understand the position of the 
English language in its relation to the languages spoken by the 
human race, and more especially in its relations to the Indo-Eu- 
ropean languages. "We have seen that it belongs to the Indo-Eu- 
ropean stock ; to the Gothic family ; to the Teutonic branch ; to 
the Low Germanic division. "We are thus prepared to enter on 
the consideration of its proximate affinities in the next chapter. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER II. 

1 . How far can a classification of languages be made ? 

2. Exhibit Schlegel's classification. 

3. State the classification adopted in this work. 

4. Describe the Chinese stock of languages. 

5. How many kinds of written symbols are there in this language ? 

6. Enumerate and describe the Shemitic stock of languages. 

7. What are the three principal divisions ? 

8. What are the peculiarities of the Shemitic stock of languages'? 

9. Give the classification of the Indo-European stock. 

10. State the difference between the synthetic and the analytic languages, 

11. Give the general characteristics of the European stock of languages. 

12. Describe the Sanscrit family of languages. 

13. Describe the Iranian family of languages. 

14. Enumerate the several members of the Latin family of languages. 

15. Describe the Italian, the Spanish, the French, the Portuguese, the Wal- 
lachian,the Provencal, and the Norman French. 

16. Enumerate the Greek family of languages. 

17. Enumerate and describe the Celtic family of languages. 

18. Name the two great branches of the Gothic family. 

19. Describe the Moeso-Gothic division. 

20. Describe the High Germanic division. 

21. Name the subdivisions of the Low Germanic division. 

22. Describe the Frisian subdivision ; the modern Dutch ; the Piatt Deutsch. 

23. Name the divisions of the Scandinavian branch of the Gothic family. 

24. Describe the Icelandic division of the Scandinavian branch of the Gothic 
family. / 

25. Describe the Slavonic family of languages. 

26. Describe the Lithuanian family of languages. 

27. Describe the Finnic family of languages, and also the Magyar, the 
Basque, and the Turkish languages. 

28. Describe the Armenian family of languages. 



76 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH 

LANGUAGE. 

§ 60. From the views already presented of trie relation of dif- 
ferent languages, we are prepared to understand the origin of the 
ethnographical elements which enter more immediately into the 
composition of the English language, and the manner of their in- 
troduction. A full exhibition of the elements themselves will be 
reserved for the third part of this work. 

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CELTIC ELEMENT. 

§ 61. This element came from a race of people called Celts or 
Kelts, who were the earliest inhabitants of Great Britain of 
whom we have any knowledge. They are supposed to have 
migrated from Asia, probably from the Euxine, earlier than any 
other race, and, after having taken possession of Spain and Gaul, 
to have passed thence into Great Britain. It is known that 
Britain was inhabited before the Trojan war, more than twelve 
hundred years before the Christian era, as tin was then brought 
from Britain by the Phoenicians. 

The Celts were distinguished from the Gothic race, as much 
as the French, their descendants, are now from the Germans 
and Danes. They had not the light hair, nor the blue eyes, nor 
the lofty stature and large limbs which are characteristic of 
those races. They were likewise distinguished from them by 
their religious belief and practices. They believed in the im- 
mortality and transmigration of the soul ; they offered human 
sacrifices in huge baskets of wicker-work, containing many in- 
dividuals, who were burned together ; they had a class of men 
called Druids, as the Gothic races had not, and they venerated 
tho mistletoe under a name which, in their language, signifies 
all heal. 

In their schools the pupils are said to have learned by heart 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 77 

a large number of verses, and in this way some of their scholars 
passed twenty years in completing their education. 

The term Druid was originally generic, including three class- 
es of persons, namely, bards, philosophers, and priests. The same 
individual, however, often held these three sister offices, each of 
which was recognized and supported by the state. The term 
was, however, in the process of time, limited to the priestly or- 
der, while the bards and philosophers became distinct and inde- 
pendent bodies. See Bibliotheca Sacra, April, 1850. 

Of the Celtic family there are two branches : 

I. The Cambrian or Cymric. 

Under this division are, 

1. The Welsh of "Wales. 

2. The Cornish of Cornwall. 

3. The Armorican of Bas Bretagne. 

It is supposed that the old British, the ancient language of 
Gaul, and the Pictish, were of this branch. 
II. The Gaelic. 
Under this division are, 

1. The Irish Gaelic of Ireland, or the Erse. 

2. The Scotch Gaelic of the Highlands of Scotland. 

3. The Manx of the Isle of Man. 

In all, here are six dialects, the three former of which are the 
relics of the language of the ancient Britons, and the latter three 
of that spoken by the inhabitants of Ireland. Of the two 
branches it is supposed the Gaelic is the oldest. 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE CELTIC ELEMENTS. 

§ 62. The Celtic elements of the present English, few as they 
are, fall into four classes. 

1. Those that are of late introduction, and can not be called 
original and constituent parts of the language. Such are the 
words flannel, crowd (a fiddle), from the Cambrian; kerne, an 
Irish foot-soldier, tartan, plaid, from the Gaelic branch. 

2. Those that are common to both the Celtic and the Gothic ; 
such as brathair, brother ; mathair, mother. 

3. Those that have come to us from the Celtic through the 
medium of another language ; such are Druid and bard } which 
come to us through the Latin. 



78 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

4. Those that have been retained from the original Celtic of 
the island, forming genuine, original, and constituent elements 
of our language. 

a. Proper names, generally of geographical localities ; as The 
Thames, Kent, &c. 

b. Common names retained in the provincial dialects of En- 
gland, but not retained in the current language ; as, Gwethall 
^household stuff, and givlanen— flannel, in Herefordshire. 

c. Common names retained in the current language ; as bas- 
gawd, basket ; botwm, button ; bran, bran ; ceubal (boat), cob- 
ble ; crog, crook; darn, darn ; greidel, grid or gridiron ; hem, 
hem; matog, mattock; mop, mop ; paeol, pail ; pan, pan; 
rhail (fence), rail; syth (glue), size ; tacl, tackle ; tedda, tea. 

" The "Welsh word ore signifies that which is extreme, a lim- 
it, a border ; and Ore is the name given to the Orkney group in 
the Welsh Triads." Ore, Manau, Gwyth ; that is, Orkney, 
Man, and Wight. Ramsgate is from the British word ruim, 
Welsh rhum, that which projects ; the first syllable in Canter- 
bury, from the Welsh caint, a plain ; the first syllable in Win- 
chester, from the Welsh word Gwent. 

The greater part of the names of mountains, lakes, and rivers, 
in both of the British islands, are to this day significant and de- 
scriptive only in some Celtic language. The appellation of these 
vast and permanent parts of Nature are commonly observed to 
continue as unchanged as themselves. Thus certain names 
given by the Indians to mountains, lakes, and rivers, like Alle- 
ghany, Huron, Potomac, seem destined to survive, though the 
race themselves have passed away before the Anglo-Saxon, just 
as the Celts did in our mother land. 

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE LATIN ELEMENT. 

§ 63. Urged on by curiosity and ambition, Julius Caesar in-, 
vaded Britain in the year 55 B.C. Though the Britons met him 
even in the waves with a determined resistance, yet their im- 
petuous valor could not withstand Roman discipline. And in 
subsequent years, though they fought for independence under 
the brave Caractacus and the heroine Boadicea, the Roman le- 
gions still triumphed. Agricola completed the conquest of the 
island. Pursuing a liberal policy, he seems to have directed all 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 79 

the energies of his mind to civilize and improve the fierce na- 
tives. He assisted them to build temples ; he inspired them 
with a love of education ; and he persuaded some of their chiefs 
to study letters. Roman dress, and language, and literature, 
spread among the natives. " Roman law and magistracies were 
every where established, and British lawyers as well as British 
ladies have obtained the panegyrics of the Roman classics." 

As the Latin language was spoken by those who presided over 
the civil and military affairs of the country, and by a portion of 
those who were active in spreading the Christian religion in the 
island, as Roman colonies were established in different places, 
and as there was constantly more or less intercourse between 
Rome and England, we can easily believe that the language of 
the ancient Britons was somewhat modified by the introduction 
of Latin words and phrases. Only a few of these remain, and 
these are somewhat changed. Thus strata is changed to street, 
colonia into coin, as in Lincoln — Lindi colonia ; castra into 
Chester and cester, as Winchester, Gloucester, which latter was 
originally written Glevce Castra. Corinium was called Co- 
rinii Castra, then Cyrenceaster, then Cirencester, pronounced 
Cicester. 

It is remarkable that Roman Britain did not produce a single 
literary name, nor a single work from which we might form an 
estimate as to what degree the Latin language was used. The 
Latin element was, for the most part, not introduced during the 
five hundred years the Romans had possession of the island, but 
afterward, by the teachers of religion, and by the teachers and 
admirers of the Roman classics. 

The Latin of the Saxon period comprises words relating chiefly 
to ecclesiastical matters, just as the Latin of the Celtic period 
relates to military affairs ; as, mynster, a minster, monasterium ; 
portic, a porch, porticus ; cluster, a cloister, claustrum ; mu~ 
nuc, a monk, monachus ; bisceop, a bishop, episcopus ; sanct, 
a saint, sanctus ; profost, a provost, propositus ; pistel, an 
epistle, epistola. The following are names of foreign plants and 
animals : Camell, a camel, camelus ; yip, elephant, elephas ; 
fic-beam, fig-tree, ficus ; pipor, pepper, piper ; purpur, purple, 
purpura; pumic-stan, pumice-stone, pumex. — See Guest's 
English Rhythms. 



80 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Since the battle of Hastings, a great number of Latin words 
have been introduced, first by monks, and since by learned men, 
especially terms relating to theology and science in general. 
Many of them are changed in form, in accordance with Norman 
analogies, when received through the Norman-French, or with 
English analogies, when received directly from Roman authors. 
See § 397. Terms of science introduced into the language fre- 
quently remain unchanged in form in both numbers. See § 253. 

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ANGLO-SAXON ELEMENT. 

§ 64. After holding possession of Britain nearly five hundred 
years from the time Caesar first landed on its shores, the Ro- 
mans, pressed by enemies from without, and torn by intestine 
divisions, found themselves obliged to retire from the island. 
The Britons, thus left to enjoy their liberty, found themselves 
unfitted, by their long subjugation to the Romans, to defend 
themselves against the Picts and the Scots, who poured in upon 
them from the northern part of the island. Being thus hard 
pressed, Yortigern, the most powerful of the British kings, in 
A.D. 449 invited Hengist and Horsa, with their followers, to 
fight his battles. 

" Then, sad relief, from the bleak coast that hears 
The German Ocean roar, deep-blooming, strong, 
And yellow- haired, the blue-eyed Saxon came." 

Saxon, a term derived from a short, crooked sword, called 
seax i carried under their loose garments by the w r arriors of the 
nation, was a general term given to the adventurers led by 
those chieftains, though they belonged to three tribes, namely, 
the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These belonged to the 
Gothic race, which composed the second great stream issuing 
from Asia, and spreading itself over the northern and western 
part of Europe. The branch to which they belonged was the 
Teutonic or Germanic, which occupied the part of Europe now 
occupied by the Germans, and by the southern part of the Danish 
nation. 

CHARACTER OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS. 

§ 65. The Saxons were a fierce race of pirates, reckless of 
life, who traversed the German Ocean in osier boats, covered 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Ql 

with skins sewed together, in pursuit of plunder, and not of 
fame. Their persons were of the largest size, their eyes blue, 
their complexion fair, and their hair almost uniformly of a light 
color. Though the love of gain was their ruling passion, still 
they sometimes showed a high regard for honor, and a pride of 
mind that could not endure disgrace. Twenty-nine Saxons 
strangled themselves, to avoid being brought into a theatre for a 
gladiatorial show. Their arms were long lances, short, crooked 
swords or knives, called seaxes, with small shields, suspended 
by chains, and long iron sledge-hammers. 

They were a race of idolaters, who sacrificed to their favorite 
idols the captives they took in battle, and the cowardly of their 
own army. The abstract name of the Deity was God. But 
there were other principal deities of the Northmen. Odin, whom 
they called the All-Father ; Freya, his wife ; and their son Thor. 
Of these, the Anglo-Saxons, like the Danes, paid the highest 
honor to Odin ; the Norwegians and Icelanders to Thor ; and 
the Swedes to Freya. Alphabetical characters were used by the 
Gothic nations on the Baltic before they received Christianity, 
and the origin of them is ascribed to Odin. As the profession 
of arms was generally aspired to by the youth of the Teutonic 
race, their education from the first had a bearing upon their 
success in that profession. Aristotle says that the " Germans 
used to take their new-born children and dive with them into 
rivers, as well to make a trial of their strength as to accustom 
them to hardness ; and that they laid their children among their 
armor in the camp, it being sport to the infants to see the glit- 
tering of the armor. They taught their little boys to manage 
the pike, having small javelins made for the purpose." 

Thus qualified to fight the battles of the Britons against their 
enemies, the Picts and Scots, they came, few in number, at first, 
as mercenaries into the army of Vortigern, until, their numbers 
increasing, they turned their arms against the very nation they 
came to protect. Afterward Ella and Cerdic came with the 
Saxons proper, then Ida with the Angles. To these, for many 
years, the Britons offered a brave but a vain resistance, under 
three kings ; under E Irian, Owen, and Prince Arthur, with his 
knights of the round table, celebrated by the British bards. 

To escape from the exterminating sword of their enemies, the 

F 



82 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

natives, as soon as they saw that resistance was fruitless, fled 
to the hills and forests. Multitudes found a secure asylum 
among the mountains which cover the west part of the island. 
Others, under the conduct of their priests and chieftains, aban- 
doned, it is supposed, their native country altogether, and, cross- 
ing the ocean, seized the desolate lands on the western extrem- 
ity of Armorica, subdued the neighboring cities, and gave the 
tract the appellation of the parent country. It is still known by 
the name of Bretagne. But the work of devastation was at 
last checked by views of personal interest. The Britons were 
at last spared, because their labor was found necessary to the 
cultivation of the soil. Without distinction of rank, or sex, or 
profession, they were divided, together with the land, among 
the conquerors. Being thus diffused among the Anglo-Saxons, 
they introduced the Celtic element into the body of the English 
language. 

NAMES OF THE IMMIGRATING TRIBES. 

§ 66. The Jutes, in A.D. 449, came from Jutland, in Den- 
mark, and occupied small possessions in Kent and the Isle of 
"Wight. 

The Saxons came from a wide-spread territory south of Den- 
mark. The South Saxons established themselves in Sussex 
A.D. 491 ; the West Saxons, in Hampshire, 519 ; the East Sax- 
ons, in Essex, 527. 

The Angles came from Anglen, in Sleswick, in the south part 
of Denmark, and established themselves in East Anglia, in Nor- 
folk, in 527 ; in Bernicia in Northumberland, in Deira in York- 
shire, 559. 

There were one Jute, three Saxon, and four Angle ; in all, eight 
kingdoms, though they went by the name of the Saxon Heptar- 
chy. The Angles very naturally denominated that part of the 
country they inhabited Angleland, or the land of the Angles, 
which was afterward contracted to England. It is a remarka- 
ble fact, that the English of the present day are called by the 
Britons in Wales, and by the Highlanders in Scotland, in Cam- 
brian and G-aelic, not Angles or English, but Saxons. 

After the entire subjugation of the Britons, the West Saxons 
grew in influence and territory until A.D. 827, when Egbert. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Q3 

king of Wessex, defeated and made tributary all the other Sax- 
on kings. The most distinguished of the West Saxon kings 
was Alfred, who, to remarkable prowess in war, united a taste 
for letters. He not only drew learned men from other parts of 
Europe into England, but by his own literary efforts, especially 
in translating Bede's History, and Boethius on the Consolations 
of Philosophy, and Orosius's History of the World, he gave so 
much prominence to the West Saxon language as to constitute 
it the cultivated language of the Anglo-Saxons. 

Thus we can understand how it is that the Anglo-Saxon en- 
ters so largely into the English ; that it is less an element than 
it is the mother-tongue, upon which a few words have been in- 
grafted from other languages. To this point we shall return. 

It is remarkable that the Jutes, the Angles, the Saxons, and 
a fourth emigrating tribe, namely, the Frisians, lay between the 
two great branches of the Gothic, the Scandinavian on the north, 
and the Teutonic on the south. The Jutes were the most Dan- 
ish, and the Frisians were the most Dutch. That they under- 
stood each other's language there can be no doubt. Probably, 
however, they differed so much that the provincial differences 
now existing in England may be owing to original difference of 
dialect in these tribes. The Frisians, now residing in Friesland^ 
speak a language strongly resembling the Anglo-Saxon. Prob- 
ably but few of their tribe came to England with the other 
tribes, while so many of the Angles came as to leave their coun- 
try unpeopled. 

OBJECTIONS TO THE TERM ANGLO-SAXON. 

§ 67. Objections have been made to the use of the term An- 
glo-Saxon, as applicable to the language, on the ground that 
the Angles, emigrating in much greater numbers, and occupying 
a much larger part of Britain than the other tribes, have a claim 
to give their own name to the language, as they did to the coun- 
try, to wit, Angleland = England. An additional ground of ob- 
jection may be found in the fact that the term " Englise" 
as applied to the language, and the term " Anglorum lin- 
gua" were for centuries in use before the term Anglo-Saxon ob- 
tained currency. 

" Our national name of Angle is derived by Bede from the 



84 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

nook, " angulus," in which our forefathers lived on the Conti- 
nent. Angle, in Anglo-Saxon, means a hook, and in the Gothic 
language seems to have meant any thing that ended in a point. 
The Angli of Tacitus, it is well known, lived at the point where 
the coast of the Baltic bends suddenly northward." — G-uest, 
London Phil. Soc. 

THE LANGUAGE BEFORE THE COMING OF THE 
NORMANS. 

§ 68. As to the language spoken before the coming of the 
Normans, Camden remarks : " Great, verily, was the glory of 
the English tongue (An.-Sax.) before the Norman Conquest, in 
this, that the Old English could express most aptly all the con- 
ceits of the mind in their own tongue, without borrowing from 
any. For example, the holy service of God, which the Latins 
call religio, because it knitteth the minds of men together, they 
call ean fastness, as the one only assurance anchor-hold of our 
soul's health. The certain inward knowledge of that which is 
in our own mind, be it good or bad, which with the Latin word 
we call conscience, they call inwit ; as that which doth in- 
wardly wit, that is, doth know certainly. That which in a 
river is called channel, was called stream race. That which 
we call grandfather, they called eald fader. That which we 
called great-grandfather, they called third fader. The altera- 
tion in our tongue hath been brought about by the entrance of 
strangers, as Danes, Normans, and others which have swarmed 
hither ; by traffic, for new words as well as new wares have 
always come in ; by the tyrant Time, which altereth all things 
under heaven ; by use, which swayeth most and hath an abso- 
lute command in words ; and by pregnant wits it hath been 
beautified and enriched out of other good tongues, partly by re- 
fining and mollifying old words, and partly by implanting new 
words with artificial composition, so that our tongue was as co- 
pious as any other in Europe." 

Such is the parentage of the English language. As compared 
with the Anglo-Saxon, with what emphasis, then, can we say 
of the present English, in the words of Horace, 
" O matre pulchra filia pulchrior !" 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 35 

INTRODUCTION OF THE DANISH ELEMENT. 

§ 69. As early as A.D. 787, the Northmen, including Norwe- 
gians, Danes, and Swedes, commenced their aggressions upon 
England, and for at least three centuries were the terror of the 
Anglo-Saxons. Of these three Scandinavian nations the Swedes 
took the least share, the Norwegians the greatest, in these inva- 
sions. " They generally anchored their ships at the mouths of 
rivers, or lay under the islands on the coasts. Thence they 
would sail up the rivers to the interior of the country, where 
they frequently mounted on horseback, and conveyed themselves 
with incredible speed from one place to another. Their fright- 
ful sabre-cuts resounded every where. The terrified inhab- 
itants imagined they beheld a judgment of God in the devasta- 
tions of the Yikings, which had been foretold in ancient prophe- 
cy." Having taken possession of the country, they placed on 
the throne successively three Danish kings, which they occu- 
pied for the space of twenty-six years. They afterward yielded 
to the line of Saxon kings in the person of Edward the Confessor. 

The language of the three nations was the same, the differ- 
ences being those of dialect. Many traces of this language are 
to be found in England, especially in the northern parts. 

1. Thus, Grimsby (the town of Grim) ; Whitby (the white 
town) ; Deorby, contracted to Derby (town of deer) ; Dalby 
(village in the dale) ; (Millthorpe) Dan. Mbldrup, (mill village) ; 
Codale (cow dale). It appears that there are 1373 names of 
places of Danish origin. 

2. The Danish element enters largely into provincial dialects 
of the north of England, namely, Northumberland, Yorkshire, 
Lincolnshire. — Worsae's Danes and Norwegians, p. 85. 

3. On a monument in Aldburgh Church, Holdernesse, in the 
East Riding of Yorkshire, referred to the age of Edward the Con- 
fessor, is found the following inscription : 

Ulfhet araeran cyrice for hanum and for Gunthara saula. 
Ulf did rear the church for him and for the soul of Gunthar. 

Now in this inscription, Ulf, in opposition to the Anglo-Saxon 
Wulf, is a Norse form ; while hanum is a Norse dative, and by 
no means an Anglo-Saxon one. Old Norse, hanum ; Swedish, 
honom. 



86 



HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



4. The use of at for to, as the sign of the infinitive mode, is 
Norse, not Saxon ; as, at think, at do, instead of to think, to 
do. It is the regular prefix in Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, and 
Feroic. It is also found in the northern dialects of the Old En- 
glish, and in the particular dialect of Westmoreland, at the pres- 
ent day. 

5. Formerly sum was used for as ; e. g., swa sum, we for- 
give oure detturs (Dan. sow). War is now used for was (Dan. 
var). 

6. This list of words, which might be increased, are found 
in Northumberland and Yorkshire, and elsewhere : 



Provincial, 


Common Dialect, 


Scandinavian. 


Braid, 


Resemble, 


Braas, Swed. 


Eldin, 


Firing, 


Eld, Dan. 


Force, 


Waterfall, 


Fors, D. Swed. 


Gar, 


Make, 


Gbra, Swed. 


Gill, 


Ravine, 


Gil, Iceland. 


Greet, 


Weep, 


Grata, Iceland. 


Ket, 


Carrion, 


Kibd=flesh, Dan 


Lait, 


Seek, 


Lede, Dan. 


Lathe, 


Barn, 


Lade, Dan. 


Lile, 


Little, 


Lille, Dan. 



The Danish or Norse element of the Anglo-Norman, as in the 
proper names Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, constitutes the In- 
direct Scandinavian element of the English. — Rev. Richard 
(xarnett, Phil. Soc., vol. i., p. 79. 



INTRODUCTION OF THE ANGLO-NORMAN ELEMENT. 

§ 70. The Norman French was spoken in the northern parts 
of France, from the Loire to the confines of Flanders. It is com- 
posed of three elements, the Celtic, the Latin, and the Scandi- 
navian. The latter element was introduced by Rollo, a Nor- 
wegian chieftain, and the Northmen who settled in Normandy, 
and gave it its name. Norman-French was called Langue d'oil. 
Its position can be understood from the following statement: 
The Latin language of the classical stock, at first confined to 
Central Italy, was afterward spoken more or less through the 
Roman empire. Out of the union of the Latin with the several 
other languages spoken in that empire grew six principal dia- 
lects which deserve to be called languages ; two eastern, the 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. $7 

Italian and Wallachian ; two southern, the Spanish and Portu- 
guese ; and two northwestern, the Norman-French and the Pro- 
vencal. This last was spoken in the south part of France. — 
Woolsey on the 'Romanic Languages, New Englander, vol. 
v., p. 13. See § 405. 

In the year A.D. 1066, William, duke of Normandy, having 
landed an army of sixty thousand men in England, at the bat- 
tle of Hastings killed Harold the king, defeated his army, and 
thus put an end to the Anglo-Saxon dynasty. After he had as- 
cended the throne, his followers were rewarded by the principal 
offices of trust in the kingdom, and by the estates of the nobility. 

NORMA N-F RENCH SPOKEN BY THE HIGHER CLASSES. 

§ 71. The Norman-French, as a consequence, was spoken by 
the superior classes of society in England, from the Conquest to 
the time of Edward the Third, 1327 ; between two and three 
hundred years. The laws of the realm, the proceedings in Par- 
liament and in the courts of justice, were in the French language. 
Grammar-school-boys were made to construe their Latin into 
French. In the* statutes of Oriel College, Oxford, there is a 
regulation, so late as 1328, that the students shall converse to- 
gether, if not in Latin, at least in French. 

As exemplifying the profound ignorance of the English kings 
respecting the language of the greater portion of their subjects, 
we have the following anecdote : Henry II., who ascended the 
throne in 1154, having been addressed by a number of his sub- 
jects during a journey into Pembrokeshire, in a . speech com- 
mencing with the words " Grood olde Kynge !" asked of his at- 
tendants an interpretation of these words ! 

MIXTURE OF THE RACES. 

§ 72. In the thirteenth century the mixture of the races was 
going on extensively and rapidly, and, of consequence, a litera- 
ture sprang up between the two extremes, in which the two lan- 
guages are, without any rule, more or less mixed together, and 
which belonged to a middle class of society, who spoke both lan- 
guages. 

In the fourteenth century the Anglo-Saxon principle seemed 
to have gained the upper hand. In 1350, John Cornwall, a. 



88 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

schoolmaster, brought in so great an innovation as the making 
of his boys read Latin into English. By a statute in 1362, all 
pleas in courts of justice are directed to be pleaded and judged in 
English, on account of the French being so mu#h unknown. 

During the fifteenth century the Anglo-Norman element 
seemed to be gaining the preponderance; but the proportions 
still continued to vary, until it became fixed in the age of 
Q,ueen Elizabeth. 

WHY ONE LANGUAGE IS USED RATHER THAN THE 

OTHER. 

§ 73. But the question arises, Why is any given object or idea 
expressed in English by a word derived from one of these lan- 
guages in preference to a word derived from the other ? 

The general fact seems to be, that words were adopted into 
the common language from the Anglo-Norman or the Anglo-Sax- 
on according as the objects or the ideas expressed by those words 
belonged more exclusively to the one race or the other. In this 
fact we have the answer. " Thus we may wonder why, while 
the Saxon titles of king- and queen remained, the principal signs 
of royalty, the throne, the crown, and sceptre, should be desig- 
nated by words of Anglo-Norman origin. The difficulty, how- 
ever, is cleared up when we consider that, for several ages, the 
king in his state was an object from which the mass of the An- 
glo-Saxon population was so far cut off, that, although the title 
was continually in their mouths, they had almost forgotten these 
distinguishing marks of his office until they were made ac- 
quainted with them through the language of their Norman rulers. 
The Anglo-Saxon titles earl, lord, lady, and knight, superseded 
their Norman equivalents, being most popular titles in Anglo- 
Saxon society. Most other words of this class, such as prince, 
duke, baron, peer, dame, damsel, esquire, &c, are taken from 
the Anglo-Norman tongue, and originated in the manners of the 
Anglo-Norman aristocracy.' 7 

Common articles of dress are Anglo-Saxon, as shirt, breeches, 
hose, shoes, hat, and cloak. But other articles, subject to the 
changes of fashion, are Anglo-Norman, as gown, coat, boots, 
mantle, cap, bonnet, &c. 

The word house, a common residence, was Anglo-Saxon. But 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. ^Q 

palaces, and castles, and manors, and mansions, and hostels, 
are Anglo-Norman. The words room and kitchen are Saxon; 
the words chambers, and parlors, and galleries, and pantries, 
and laundries, and larders, are Anglo-Norman. Hearth, and 
threshold, and wa//, and foo/*, and window, are Anglo-Saxon ; 
chimney is Anglo-Norman, perhaps because the Saxon portion 
of the population had no chimney. Stool, bench, bed, board, 
bolster, pillow, sheet, axe Anglo-Saxon; but table, chair, couch, 
carpet, curtain, are Anglo-Norman. 

The names ox, calf, sheep, pig, boar, deer, are Anglo-Saxon, 
because that part of the population were engaged in tending 
these animals while they were living ; but beef, veal, mutton, 
pork, brawn, venison, are Anglo-Norman names, because that 
part of the population were accustomed to eat their flesh when 
they were killed. The same is the case with fowls, which is 
an Anglo-Saxon name given to the birds while living, while 
poultry is an Anglo-Norman name given to them when killed 
for eating. 



§ 74. Walter Scott describes the same thing in his sprightly 
way. 

" 'Why, how call you those grunting brutes running about 
on their four legs ?' demanded Wamba. 

" ' Swine, fool, swine,' said the herd ; < every fool knows that.' 

" ' And swine is good Saxon,' said the Jester ; ' but how caU 
you the sow when she is flayed, and drawn, and quartered, and 
hung by the heels like a traitor ?' 

" ' Pork,' answered the swineherd. 

" .* I am very glad every fool knows that too,' said Wamba ; 
1 and pork, I think, is good Norman-French ; and so when the 
brute lives, and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her 
Saxon name ; but becomes a Norman, and is called pork, when 
she is carried to the castle hall to feast among the nobles. What 
dost thou think of this doctrine, Friend Grurth, ha ?' 

" * It is but too true doctrine, friend Wamba, however it got 
into thy fool's pate.' 

" ' Nay, I can tell you more,' said Wamba, in the same tone. 
* There is old Alderman Ox continues to hold his Saxon epithet 



90 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

while he is under the charge of serfs and bondmen such as 
thou, but becomes beef, a fiery French gallant, when he arrives 
before the worshipful jaws that are destined to consume him. 
" Mynheer Calf," too, becomes " Monsieur de Veau" in the like 
manner. He is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a 
Norman name when he becomes matter of enjoyment.' " — Ivan- 
hoe, chap. i. 

INFLUENCE OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 

§ 75. " Had the Plantagenets, as at one time seemed likely, 
succeeded in uniting all France under their government, it is 
probable that England would never have had an independent 
existence. The noble language of Milton and Burke would 
have remained a rustic dialect, without a literature, a fixed 
grammar, or a fixed orthography, and would have been con- 
temptuously abandoned to -the use of boors. No man of English 
extraction would have risen to eminence except by becoming, 
in speech and habits, a Frenchman." — Macaulay's History of 
England, p. 14. 

" The influence of the Norman Conquest upon the language 
of England was like that of a great inundation, which at first 
buries the face of the landscape under its waters, but which, at 
last subsiding, leaves behind it the elements of new beauty and 
fertility. Its first effect was to degrade the Saxon tongue to the 
exclusive use of the inferior orders ; and by the transference of 
estates, ecclesiastical benefices, and civil dignities to Norman 
possessors, to give the French language, which had begun to 
prevail at court, from the time of Edward the Confessor, a more 
complete predominance among the higher classes of society. 
The native gentry of England were either driven into exile, or 
depressed into a state of dependence on their conqueror, which 
habituated them to speak his language. On the other hand, we 
received from the Normans the first germs of romantic poetry ; 
and our language was ultimately indebted to them for a wealth 
and compass of expression which it probably would not other- 
wise have possessed." — Thomas Campbell's Essay on English 
Poetry, p. 4. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 94 

TRANSITION OF THE ANGLO-SAXON INTO ENGLISH. 

§ 76. " Nothing can be more difficult, except by an arbitrary- 
line, than to determine the commencement of the English lan- 
guage ; not so much, as in those on the Continent, because we 
are in want of materials, but rather from an opposite reason, the 
possibility of showing a very gradual succession of verbal changes 
that ended in a change of denomination. We should probably 
experience a similar difficulty if we knew equally well the cur- 
rent idiom of France or Italy in the seventh or eighth centuries ; 
for when we compare the earliest English of the thirteenth cen- 
tury with the Anglo-Saxon of the twelfth, it seems hard to pro- 
nounce why it should pass for a separate language rather than 
a modification of the former. "We must conform, however* to 
usage, and say that the Anglo-Saxon was converted into En- 
glish : 1. By contracting and otherwise modifying the pronun- 
ciation and orthography of words. 2. By omitting many inflec- 
tions, especially of the noun, and consequently making more use 
of articles and auxiliaries. 3. By the introduction of French 
derivatives. 4. By using less inversion and ellipsis, especially 
in poetry. Of these, the second alone, I think, can be consider- 
ed as sufficient to describe a new form of language ; and this 
was brought about so gradually, that we are not relieved of 
much of our difficulty as to whether some compositions shall 
pass for the latest offspring of the mother, or the earlier fruits of 
the daughter's fertility. It is a proof of this difficulty, that the 
best masters of our ancient language have lately introduced the 
word Semi-Saxon, which is to cover every thing from A.D. 1150 
to A.D. 1250." — Hallam's Introduction to the Literature of 
Europe, ch. i., p. 47. 

From this chapter the student can understand how the his- 
torical elements which enter into the composition of the English 
language were introduced. For a full exhibition of those ele- 
ments themselves, and also of miscellaneous elements, changed 
though they often are, in order to conform to English analogies, 
see Part IV., on Etymological Forms. 



92 , HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER in. 

1. Give some account of the race from which the Celtic element was intro- 
duced into the English language. 

2. Mention the two branches of the Celtic family, and the several divisions 
of each. 

3. Mention the four classes of elements in the present English, with some 
examples. 

4. To what class of objects in the British islands are Celtic words applied'? 

5. Give some account of the introduction of the Latin element into the En- 
glish language. 

6. Was the Latin element extensively introduced into the English language 
during the Celtic period ? 

7. What class of Latin words were chiefly introduced during the Celtic 
period ? 

8. What class of Latin words were introduced during the Saxon period 1 

9. What class of Latin words were introduced after the Norman Conquest, 
and what analogies do they follow ? 

10. Mention the occasion upon which the Saxons came into England, and 
at what time. 

11. Give some account of the Saxon race. 

12. Mention the names of the three tribes that came into England, and into 
what part, and at what time they severally came. 

13. From what is the term England derived ? 

14. Who was a distinguished king of the West Saxons, and what is said 
of him? 

15. What was the geographical position of the Jutes, the Angles, the Saxons, 
and the Frisians in their own country % 

16. What objection has been made to the compound term Anglo-Saxon'? 

17. What was the character of the language spoken in England before the 
Norman Conquest? 

18. Give some account of the race from which the Danish element was in- 
troduced into the English language. 

19. How long did the Danes occupy the throne of England, and in what 
part of the country was this language especially introduced ? 

20. Give some account of the Anglo-Norman element, and by whom and 
when it was introduced. 

21. By what classes was Norman-French spoken, and how long? 

22. What causes operated to promote the currency of the Norman-French? 

23. What effect was produced by a mixture of the races on the language? 

24. To what classes of objects were Anglo-Norman words applied, and 
to what classes of objects were Anglo-Saxon words applied? 

•25: What can you say of the influence of the Norman Conquest upon the 
language ? 

26. What can you say of the transition of the Anglo-Saxon into English? 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 93 



CHAPTER IV. 

STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



§ 77. 



SPECIMENS OF ANGLO-SAXON. 



FromC(zdmon,ontheCre- King Alfred's Version of Literal English Version, 
ation.who died A.D. 680. the same, about A.D. 885. 



Nu scylun hergan 
hefaen ricaes uard, 

metudaes maecti 
end his mod gidanc 
uerc uuldur fadur 
sue he uundra gihuaes 
eci drictin 
or astelidae. 
He aerist scop 
elda barnum 
heben til hrofe 
haleg scepen 
tha middun geard 
mon cynnaes uard 
eci dryctin 
aefter tiadae 
firum foldu 
frea allmectig. 



Nu we sceolan herian 
heofon-rices weard, 

metodes mihte 
and his mod-geponc 
wera wuldor-faeder 
swa he wundra gehwaes 
ece dryhten 
oord onstealde. 
He aerest gesceop 
eor-San bearnum 
heofon to hrofe 
halig scyppend 
pa middan-geard 
mon cynnes weard 
ece dryhten 
aefter teode 
firum foldan 
frea aelmihtig. 



Now must we praise 
the guardian of heaven's 

kingdom, 
the Creator's might, 
and his mind's thought, 
glorious Father of men ! 
as of every wonder he, 
Lord eternal, 
formed the beginning. 
He first framed 
for the children of earth 
the heavens as a roof; 
holy Creator ! 
then mid-earth 
the guardian of mankind, 
the eternal Lord, 
afterward produced 
the earth for men, 
Lord Almighty ! 



THE LORD'S PRAYER IN ANGLO-SAXON, WITH A GRAM- 
MATICAL ANALYSIS. 

§ 78. Feeder ure, thu the eart on heofenum, si thin nama 
gehalgod ; to-becume thin rice ; geweordhe thin willa on eorthan 
swa swa on heofenum. Urne ge dgeghwamlican hlaf syle us 
to-deeg, and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgifadh urum 
gyltendum, and ne gelsede thu us on costnunge, ac alys us of ytte. 

Feeder, " father," the Unguals d and th being interchanged, 
here in the vocative case. 

Ure, " our," possessive adjective pronoun. The English diph- 
thong ou is substituted for the Anglo-Saxon long vowel u. 



94 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Thu, " thou," the personal pronoun being inserted before the 
relative pronoun of the second person. Here, again, English ou 
= Anglo-Saxon u. 

The, " who," indeclinable relative pronoun. 

Eart, " art," 2d pers. sing. pres. indie, from wesan, " to be." 

On (whence English on), " in," here construed with the da- 
tive. 

Heofenum, " the heavens," dative plural from heofen, 
"heaven." 

Si, "be," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from ivesan, "to be." 

TAt'ft, " thine," possessive adjective pronoun. 

Nama, " name," with final a formative of nouns, which is 
dropped in English. 

Gehalgod, "hallowed," past participle from gehalgian, "to 
hallow." 

To-becume, " let come," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from 
to-becuman, "to approach" or "come." — Thin, "thine," as be- 
fore. 

Rice (comp. English ric in bishopric), "kingdom." 

Geweordhe, " let be done," 3d pers. sing. pres. subjunct. from 
geweordhan, "to be 'done." — Thin, "thine," as before. 

Willa, with final a formative of nouns, which is dropped in 
English. — On, " in" or " on," here construed with the dative, as 
before. 

Eorthan, " earth," dative singular from eorthe, " earth." 

Swa, " so," demonstrative adverb of manner, used as a de- 
monstrative. — Swa, " as," demonstrative adverb of manner, here 
used as a relative. — On heofenum, " in the heavens," as before. 

Time, " our," possessive adjective pronoun in the accusative 
case singular. 

Ge, " also," conjunction. 

Dceghwamlican, " daily," adjective in the accusative case 
singular. 

Hlaf (whence English loaf)," bread," in the accusative case. 

Syle, " give thou," 2d pers. sing, imper. from syllan (whence 
English to sell), "to give." 

Us, " to us," dative of we, " we." 

To-dccg, " to-day," adverb. 

And, " and," conjunction. 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 95 

Forgyf " forgive thou," 2d pers. sing, imper. from for gif an, 
"to forgive." — Us, "to us," as before. 

Ure, " our," in accusative plural. 

Gyltas, " debts," accusative plural, from g*?/^, " a debt."— 
Swa siva, " so as," as before. 

We, " we." 

Forgifadh, " forgive," 1st pers. plur. pres. indie, from /or- 
gifan, "to forgive." 

Urum, " our," in dative plural. 

Gyltendum, " debtors," dative plural, from gyltend, " a debt- 
or." — ^Lwrf, " and," as before. 

Ne, " not," adverb of negation. 

Gelmde, "lead," 2d per. sing, imper. from gelcedan, "to lead." 
— Thu, " thou," as before. 

Us, "us," accusative of we, "we." 

On, " into," here construed with an accusative. 

Costnunge, " temptations," accusative plural, from costnung, 
" a temptation." 

Ac, " but," conjunction. 

Alys, " deliver thou," imper. from alysan, "to deliver." — Us, 
"us," as before. 

Of (whence English of), " from," construed with the dative. 

Yfie, " evil," dative sing, from yfel, " evil." 

SPECIMENS OF SEMI-SAXON. 

§ 79. The term Semi-Saxon is applied to the language while 
it was going through the transition state from Saxon to English. 
It is characterized by its retaining the Saxon phraseology and 
the grammatical construction, while the words are rapidly chang- 
ing their forms and softening down their terminations. 

THE GRAVE. 
[A Fragment, supposed to have been written about the year 1150.] 

Semi- Saxon. Literal English. 

Be wes bold gebyld For thee was a house built 

er j?u iboren were ; Ere thou wast born ; 

$e wes molde imynt For thee was a mold appointed 

er -Su of moder come ; . Ere thou of mother earnest ; 

ac hit nes no idiht But it is not prepared, 

ne )>eo deopnes imeten ; Nor the deepness meted : 



96 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

nes gyt iloced Nor is it yet seen 

hu long hit Ipe were : How long for thee it were : 

Nu me ye bringaeS Now I bring thee 

Jjer -Su beon scealt Where thou shalt be, 

nu me sceal pe meten Now I shall thee measure, 

and $a mold seo-SSa, &c. And then earth afterward. 

SPECIMENS OF OLD ENGLISH. 

§ 80. In the Anglo-Saxon, number, case, and person are dis- 
tinguished by a change in the vowel of the final syllable ; in the 
Old English these vowels are all confounded ; and in our mod- 
ern English they are lost. Prepositions did the work of the lost 
inflections. " The only sure test by which we can distinguish 
an Old English from an Anglo-Saxon MS., is a confounding of 
the vowels of the final syllable, which is not done in Anglo- 
Saxon." — Edwin Guest, London Philological Society. 

The following extract is from the proclamation of Henry 
III. to the people of Huntingdonshire, A.D. 1258. It cur- 
rently passes for the earliest specimen of English, i. e., Old En- 
glish : 

" Henry, thurg Godes fultome, King on Engleneloande, Lhoaurd 
on Yrloand, Duke on Normand, on Acquitain, Eorl on Anjou, send 
I greting to alle hise holde, ilaerde & ilewerde, on Huntingdon- 
schiere. That witen ge well alle, thaet we willen & unnen (grant) 
thaet ure raedesmen alle other, the moare del of heora, thaet beoth 
ichosen thurg us and thurg thaet loandes-folk on ure Kuneriche, 
habbith idon, and schullen don, in the worthnes of God and ure 
threowthe, for the freme of the loande, thurg the besigte of than 
toforen iseide raedesmen, beo stedefsest and ilestinde in all thinge 
a butan sende." 

Literal Translation. — " Henry, through God's support, King of 
England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy, of Aquitaine, Earl of 
Anjou, sends greeting to all his subjects, learned and unlearned, of 
Huntingdonshire. This know ye well all, that we will and grant 
what our counselors all, or the more part of them, that be chosen 
through us and through the landfolk of our kingdom, have done, and 
shall do, to the honor of God, and our allegiance, for the good of the 
land, through the determination of the aforesaid counselors, be stead- 
fast and permanent in all things without end." 

The following is from Robert of Gloucester, who lived in the 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 97 

times of Henry III. and Edward L, in the latter part of the 
thirteenth century : 

Thus come lo ! Englond into Normannes honde ; 

And the Normans ne couthe speke tho bote her owe speche, 

And speke French as dude atom ond here chyldren dude al so teche ; 

So that heyman of thys lond that of her blod come, 

Holdeth alle thulke speche that hii of hem nome ; 

Vor bote a mon couthe French, me tolth of hym well lute ; 

Ac low men holdeth to Englyss ond to her kund speche zute. 

Ich wene ther ne be mon in world contreyes none, 

That ne holdeth to her kund speche, bote Engelond one ; 

Ac wel me wol vorto conne bothe well yt ys, 

Vor the more that a man con, the more he ys. 

SPECIMENS OF MIDDLE ENGLISH. 

§ 81. In Chaucer, and Mandeville, and other writers of that 
age, we have a transition from Old to what has been called 
Middle English. The last characteristic of a grammar different 
from that of the present English is the plural form in -en : We 
tellen, Ye tellen, They tellen. As this disappears, which it 
does in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the Middle English may 
be said to pass into the New or Modern English. 

Sir John Mandeville. 1300-1372. 
Beside that isle of Mistorak, upon the left side, nigh to the river 
Phison, is a marvelous thing. There is a vale between the mount- 
ains that dureth near a four mile. And some clepen it the vale 
enchanted, some clepen it the vale of devils, and some clepen it the 
vale perilous. * * This vale is full of devils, and hath been al- 
ways. And men say there that it is one of the entries of hell. In 
that vale is plenty of gold and silver ; wherefore many misbelieving 
men, and many Christian men also, gon in oftentime, for to have 
of the treasure that there is, but few comen again ; and namely of 
the misbelieving men, ne of the Christian men nouther : for they 
ben anon strangled of devils. 

Geoffrey Chaucer. 1328-1400. 

DEATH OF ARCITE. 

Alas the wo ! alas the peines stronge 
That I for you have suffered, and so longe ! 
Alas the deth ! Alas min Emelie ! 
Alas departing of our compagnie ! 

g 



98 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Alas min hertes quene ! alas my wif ! 
Min hertes ladie, ender of my lif ! 
What is this world ? what axen men to have 1 
Now with his love, now in his colde grave, 
Alone withouten any compagnie. 
Farewel my swete, farewel min Emelie, 
And softe take me in your armes twey, 
For love of God, and herkeneth what I sey. 

John Wickliffe. 1324-84. 
And Marye seyde mi soule magnyfieth the lord. And my spirit 
hath gladid in God myn helthe. For he hath behulden the meke- 
ness of his handmaiden ; for lo for this alle generaciouns schulen 
seye that I am blessid ; for he that is mighti hath don to me greet 
thingis, and his name is holi, and his merci is fro kynrede into kyn- 
redis ; to men that dreden hym. 

John Lydgate. 1380-1440. 

Till at the last, among the bowes glade 
Of adventure, I caught a pleasant shade ; 
Full smooth, and plain, and lusty for to seen, 
And soft as velvet was the yonge green : 
Where from my horse I did alight as fast, 
And on the bow aloft his reine cast. 
So faint and mate of weariness I was, 
That I me laid adoun upon the grass, 
Upon a brinke, shortly for to tell, 
Beside the river of a crystal well; 
And the water as I reherse can, 
Like quickesilver in his streams yran, 
Of which the gravel and the brighte stone, 
As any gold, against the sun y-shone. 

Sir John Fortescue. 1430-1470. 
It is cowardise and lack of hartes and corage that kepith the 
Frenchemen from rysyng, and not povertye ; which corage no 
Frencheman hath like to the English man. It hath ben often seen 
in England that iij or ij theves, for povertie hath sett upon vij or 
viij true men, and robbed them al. But it hath not been seen in 
Fraunce that vij or viij theves have ben hardy to robbe iij or iv true 
men. Wherfor it is right seld that Frenchemen be hangyd for rob- 
bery e, for that they have no hertys to do so terrible an acte. There 
be therefor mo men hangyd in England in a yere for robberye and 
manslaughter than ther be hangyd in Fraunce for such cause of 
crime in vij yers, &c. 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 99 

Gavin Douglass. 1474-1522. 

Dame Nature's minstrals, on that other part, 
Their blissful lay, intoning every art, 
And all small fowlis singis on the spray, 
Welcome the lord of licht and lampe of day, 
Welcome fosterer of tender herbes green, 
Welcome quickener of flourist flowers sheen, 
Welcome support of every rute and vein, 
Welcome comfort of all kind fruit and grain, 
Welcome the birdis beild upon the brier, 
Welcome master and ruler of the year, 
Welcome weelfare of husbands at the plews, 
Welcome repairer of woods, trees, and bews, 
Welcome depainter of the bloomit meads 
Welcome the life of every thing that spreads, 
Welcome storer of all kind bestial, 
Welcome be thy bright beamis gladdand all. 

William Caxton. 

In 1471 he printed the first book in the English language. In a 
note to this publication, Caxton says : " For as much as age creep- 
eth on me daily and feebleth all the bodie, and also because I have 
promised divers gentlemen, and to my friends, to address to them, 
as hastily as I might, this said book ; therefore I have practised 
and learned, at my great charge and dispence, to ordain this said 
book in print, after the manner and form as ye may here see, and 
is not written with pen and ink, as other books ben, to the end that 
all men may have them at once ; for all the books of this story, 
named The Recule of the Historeys of Troyes, thus emprinted, as 
ye here see, were begun in one day and also finished in one day." 

Earl of Surrey. 1516-47. 

Martial, the things that do attain 

The happy life, be these I find, 
The riches left, not got with gain, 

The fruitful ground, the quiet mind. 

The equal friend ; no grudge, no strife, 

No charge of rule or governance, 
Without disease, the healthful life, 

The household of continuance. 

The mean diet, no delicate fare, 

True wisdom joined with simpleness ; 
The night discharged of all care, 
Where wine the wit may not oppress. 
L. of C. 



100 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

The faithful wife, without debate, 
Such sleep as may beguile the night; 

Contented with thine own estate, 
Ne wish for death, ne fear his might. 

Sir Thomas More. 1480-1535. 

Mistress Alice, in my most heartywise I recommend me to you. 
And whereas I am informed by my son Heron of the loss of our 
barns and our neighbors' also, with all the corn that was therein ; 
albeit (saving God's pleasure) it were great pity of so much good 
corn lost ; yet since it has liked him to send us such a good chance, 
we must, and are bounden not only to be content, but are also glad 
of his visitation. He sent us all that we have lost ; and since he 
hath by such a chance taken it away again, his pleasure be fulfilled ! 
Let us never grudge thereat, but take it in good worth, and thank 
him heartily as well for adversity as for prosperity. And perad- 
venture we have more cause to thank him for our loss than for our 
winning, for his wisdom better seeth what is good for us than we do 
ourselves. Therefore I pray you, be of good cheer, and take all the 
household with you to church, and there thank God, both for that 
he has given us, and for that which he has taken from us, and for 
that he hath left us ; which, if it please him, he can increase when he 
will, and if it please him to leave us yet less, at his pleasure be it. 

Edmund Spenser. 1553-99. 

THE HOUSE OF SLEEP. 

He, making speedy way through spersed ayre, 

And through the world of waters wide and tleepe, 

To Morpheus' house doth hastily repaire, 

Amid the bowels of the earth full steepe ; 

And low, where dawning day doth never peepe. 

His dwelling is, there Tethys his wet bed 

Doth ever wash, and Cynthia still doth steepe 

In silver deaw his ever drouping hed, 

Whiles sad Night over him her mantle black doth spred. 

Whose double gates he findeth locked fast, 

The one fayre fram'd of burnished yvory, 

The other all with silver overcast ; 

And wakeful dogges before them farre doe lye, 

Watching to banish care their enimy, 

Who oft is wont to trouble gentle sleep. 

By them the sprite doth pass in quietly, 

And unto Morpheus comes, whom drouned deepe, 

In drowsie fit he findes ; of nothing he takes keepe. 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 101 
§82. SPECIMENS OF MODERN ENGLISH. 

Sir Philip Sidney. 1554-86. 
Description of Arcadia. 
There were hills which garnished their proud heights with stately 
trees ; humble valleys, whose base estate seemed comforted with 
the refreshing of silver rivers ; meadows, enamelled with all sorts 
of eye-pleasing flowers ; thickets, which being lined with the most 
pleasant shade, were witnessed so to by the cheerful disposition of 
many well-tuned birds ; each pasture stored with sheep, feeding with 
sober security, while the pretty lambs, with bleating oratory, craved 
the dam's comfort ; here a shepherd's piping, as though he should 
never be old ; there a young shepherdess knitting, and withal sing- 
ing ; and it seemed that her voice comforted her hands to work, and 
her hands kept time to her voice music. 

George Herbert. 1593-1632. 

RELIGION. 

All may of thee partake ; 

Nothing can be so mean, 
Which with this tincture, for thy sake, 

Will not grow bright and clean. 

This is the famous stone 

That turneth all to gold, 
For that which God doth touch and own 

Can not for less be told. 

Sir Walter Raleigh. 1552-1618. 

The Strength of Kings. 

They say the goodliest cedars which grow on the high mountains 
of Libanus thrust their roots between the clefts of hard rocks, the 
better to bear themselves against the strong storms that blow there. 
As reason has instructed those kings of trees, so has reason taught 
the kings of men to root themselves in the hardy hearts of their 
faithful subjects ; and as those kings of trees have large tops, so 
have the kings of men large crowns, whereof, as the first would 
soon be broken from their bodies were they not underborne by many 
branches, so would the other easily totter were they not fastened 
on their heads by the strong chains of civil justice and martial dis- 
cipline. 



102 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Robert Herrick. Born 1591. 

TO FIND GOD. 

Weigh me the fire ; or canst thou find 
A way to measure out the wind ; 
Distinguish all those floods that are 
Mixt in that watery theatre, 
And taste thou them as saltless there 
As in their channel first they were. 
Tell me the people that do keep 
Within the kingdoms of the deep ; 
Or fetch me back that cloud again, 
Beshivered into seeds of rain. 
Tell me the motes, dusts, sands, and spears 
Of corn, when Summer shakes his ears : 
Show me that world of stars, and whence 
They noiseless spill their influence. 
This if thou canst ; then show me Him 
That rides the glorious cherubim. 

Ben Jonson. 1574-1637. 

Language most shows a man : speak, that I may see thee. It 
springs out of the most retired and inmost parts of us, and is the 
image of the parent of it, the mind. No glass renders a man's form 
or likeness so true as his speech. Nay, it is likened to a man ; and 
as we consider feature and composition in a man, so words in lan- 
guage, in the greatness, openness, sound, structure, and harmony of 
it. Some men are tall and big, so some language is high and great. 
Then the words are chosen, their sound ample, the composition fair, 
the absolution plenteous, and poured out, all grave, sinewy, and 
strong. Some are little and dwarfs ; so of speech, it is humble and 
low, the words poor and flat, the members and periods thin and 
weak, without knitting or number. The middle are of a just stature. 
There the language is plain and pleasing ; even without stopping, 
round without swelling ; all well turned, composed, elegant, and 
accurate. The vicious language is vast and gaping, swelling and 
irregular ; when it contends to be high, full of rocks and mountains, 
and pointedness ; as it affects to lie low, it is abject, and creeps full 
of bogs and holes. 

Sir Thomas Browne. 1605-1682. 
Light the Shadow of God. 
Light, that makes things seen, makes some things invisible. 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 103 

Were it not for darkness and the shadow of the earth, the noblest 
part of creation had remained unseen, and the stars in heaven as 
Invisible as on the fourth day, when they were created above the 
horizon with the sun, and there was not an eye to behold them. 
The greatest mystery of religion is expressed by adumbration, and 
In the noblest part of Jewish types we find the cherubim shadow- 
ing the mercy-seat. Life itself is but the shadow of death, and 
souls departed but the shadows of the living. All things fall under 
this name. The sun itself is but the dark simulacrum, and light 
but the shadow of God. 

Jeremy Taylor. 1613-1667. 
The Age of Reason and Discretion, 
We must not think that the life of a man begins when he can 
feed himself or walk alone, when he can fight or beget his like, for 
so is he contemporary with a camel or a cow ; but he is first a man 
when he comes to a certain steady use of his reason, according to 
his proportion ; and when that is, all the world of men can not tell 
precisely. Some are called at age at fourteen, some at one-and- 
twenty, some never ; but all men late enough ; for the life of a man 
comes upon him slowly and insensibly. But, as when the sun ap- 
proaching toward the gates of the morning, he first opens a little 
eye of heaven, and sends away the spirits of darkness, and gives 
light to a cock, and calls up the lark to matins, and by-and-by 
gilds the fringes of a cloud, and peeps over the eastern hills, thrust- 
ing out his golden horns like those which decked the brows of Mo- 
ses when he was forced to wear a veil because himself had seen the 
face of God ; and still, while a man tells the story, the sun gets up 
higher, till he shows a fair face and a full light, and then he shines 
one whole day, under a cloud sometimes, and often weeping great 
and little showers, and sets quickly ; so is a man's reason and his 
life. He first begins to perceive himself, to see or taste, making 
little reflections upon his actions of sense, and can discourse of flies 
and dogs, shells and play, horses and liberty ; but when he is strong 
enough to enter into arts and little institutions, he is at first enter- 
tained with trifles and impertinent things, not because he needs 
them, but because his understanding is no bigger ; and little images 
of things are laid before him, like a cock-boat to a whale, only to 
play withal : but before a man comes to be wise, he is half dead 
with gouts and consumption, with catarrhs and aches, with sore eyes 
and worn-out body. So that, if we must not reckon the life of a 
man but by the accounts of his reason, he is long before his soul can 



104 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

be dressed •, and he is not to be called a man without a wise and 
adorned soul, a soul, at least, furnished with what is necessary to- 
ward his well-being. 

John Milton. 1608-74. 
Truth, indeed, came once into the world with her Divine Master, 
and was a perfect shape, most glorious to look upon ; but when he 
ascended, and his apostles after him were laid asleep, then straight 
arose a wicked race of deceivers, who, as that story goes of the 
Egyptian Typhon with his conspirators, how they dealt with the 
god Osiris, took the virgin Truth, hewed her lovely form into a thou- 
sand pieces, and scattered them to the four winds. From that time 
ever since, the sad friends of Truth, such as durst appear, imitating 
the careful search that Isis made for the mangled body of Osiris, 
went up and down, gathering up limb by limb still as they could 
find them. We have not found them all yet, Lords and Commons f 
nor ever shall do, till her Master's second coming ; he shall bring 
together every joint and member, and mold them into an immortal 
feature of loveliness and perfection. 

John Dryden. 1631-1700. 

To begin, then, with Shakspeare. He was the man who, of all 
modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most com- 
prehensive soul. All the images of nature were still present to 
him, and he drew them not laboriously, but luckily. When he de- 
scribes any thing, you more than see it, you feel it too. Those that 
accuse him to have wanted learning give him the greater commen- 
dation. He was naturally learned ; he needed not the spectacles of 
books to read Nature ; he looked inward, and found her there. I 
can not say he is every where alike ; were he so, I should do him 
injustice to compare him with the greatest of mankind. He is 
many times flat, insipid ; his comic wit degenerating into clinches, 
his serious swelling into bombast. But he is always great when 
some great occasion is presented to him ; no man can say he ever 
had a fit subject for his wits and did not raise himself as high above 
the rest of poets, 

" Quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi." 

Alexander Pope. 1688-1744. 
To Mrs. Martha Blount. 
Nothing could have more of that melancholy which once used to 
please me, than my last day's journey ; for, after having passed 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 105 

through my favorite wood in the forest with a thousand reveries of 
past pleasures, I rid over hanging hills, whose tops were edged with 
g~oves, and whose feet watered with winding rivers, listening to 
the falls of cataracts below and the murmuring of the winds above ; 
the gloomy verdure of Stonor succeeded to these, and then the shades 
of the evening overtook me. The moon rose in the clearest sky I 
ever saw, by whose light I paced on slowly, without company or 
any interruption to the range of my thoughts. About a mile- before 
I reached Oxford, all the bells tolled in different notes ; the clocks 
of every college answered one another, and sounded forth (some in 
a softer tone) that it was eleven at night. All this was no ill prep- 
aration to the life I have since led among those old walls, venerable 
galleries, stone porticoes, studious walks, and solitary scenes of the 
university. I wanted nothing but a black gown and a salary to 
be as mere a book-worm as any there. I conformed myself to the 
college hours, was rolled up in books, lay in one of the most ancient, 
dusky parts of the university, and was as dead to the world as any 
hermit of the desert. If any thing was alive and awake in me, it 
was a little vanity, such as even those good men used to entertain 
when monks of their own order extolled their piety and abstraction. 
For I found myself received with a sort of respect which this idle 
part of mankind, the learned, pay to their own species, who are as 
considerable here as the busy, the gay, and the ambitious are in 
your world. 

Dr. Samuel Johnson. 1709-1784. 

Junius burst into notice with a blaze of impudence which has 
rarely glared upon the world before, and drew the rabble after him 
as a monster makes a show. When he had once provided for his 
safety by impenetrable secrecy, he had nothing to combat but truth 
and justice, enemies whom he knows to be feeble in the dark. 
Being, then, at liberty to indulge himself in all the immunities of in- 
visibility ; out of the reach of danger, he has been bold ; out of the 
reach of shame, he has been confident. As a rhetorician, he has 
had the art of persuading when he seconded desire ; as a reasoner, 
he has convinced those who had no doubt before ; as a moralist, 
he has taught that virtue may disgrace ; and, as a patriot, he has 
gratified the mean by insults on the high. Finding sedition as- 
cendant, he has been able to advance it ; finding the nation com- 
bustible, he has been able to inflame it. Let us abstract from his 
wit the vivacity of insolence, and withdraw from his efficacy the 
sympathetic favor of plebeian malignity ; I do not say that we shall 



106 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

leave him nothing; the cause that I defend scorns the help of 
falsehood ; but if we leave him only his merit, what shall we 
praise ? 

Lord Francis Jeffrey. 1817. 

Every thing in him (Shakspeare) is in unmeasured abundance 
and unequaled perfection, but every thing so balanced and kept in 
subordination as not to jostle, or disturb, or take the place of an- 
other. The most exquisite poetical descriptions are given with such 
brevity, and introduced with such skill as merely to adorn, without 
loading the sense they accompany. Although his sails are purple, 
and perfumed, and his prow of beaten gold, they waft him on his 
voyage, not less, but more rapidly and directly, than if they had 
been composed of baser materials. All excellences, like those of 
Nature herself, are thrown out together, and, instead of interfering 
with, support and recommend each other. His flowers are not tied 
up in garlands, nor his fruits crushed into baskets, but spring living 
from the soil, in all the dew and freshness of youth, while the 
graceful foliage in which they lurk, and the ample branches, the 
rough and vigorous stem, and the wide-spreading roots on which 
they depend, are present along with them, and share in their places 
the equal care of their Creator. 

Rusk in. 1845. 

And yet people speak in this working age, when they speak from 
their hearts, as if houses, and lands, and food, and raiment were 
alone useful, and as if sight, thought, and admiration were all profit- 
less ; so that men insolently call themselves Utilitarians, who would 
turn, if they had their way, themselves and their race into vegeta- 
bles ; men who think, as far as such can be said to think, that the 
meat is more than the life, and the raiment than the body ; who 
look to the earth as a stable, and to its fruit as fodder ; vine- 
dressers and husbandmen, who love the corn they grind and the 
grapes they crush better than the gardens of the angels upon the 
slopes of Eden ; hewers of wood and drawers of water, who think 
that the wood they hew and the water they draw are better than 
the pine-forests that cover the mountains like the shadow of God, 
and the great rivers that move like his eternity. And so comes upon 
us that woe of the preacher, that though God " hath made every 
thing beautiful in his time, also he hath set the world in their heart, 
go that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the be- 
ginning to the end." 



STAGES AND PERIODS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 1Q7 



George Bancroft. 1854. 

Go forth, then, language of Milton and Hampden, language of my 
country ; take possession of the North American Continent! Glad- 
den the waste places with every tone that has been rightly struck 
on the English lyre, with every English word that has been spoken 
Veil for liberty and man ! Give an echo to the now silent and sol- 
itary mountains ; gush out with the fountains that as yet sing their 
anthem all day long without response ; fill the valleys with the 
voices of love in its purity, the pledges of friendship in its faithful- 
ness ; and as the morning sun drinks the dew-drops from the flow- 
ers all the way from the dreary Atlantic to the Peaceful ocean, meet 
him with the joyous hum of the early industry of freemen ! Utter 
boldly and spread widely through the world the thoughts of the 
coming apostles of the people's liberty, till the sound that cheers the 
desert shall thrill through the heart of humanity, and the lips of the 
messenger of the people's power, as he stands in beauty upon the 
mountains, shall proclaim the renovating tidings of equal freedom 
for the race. 

§ 83. We have, in this chapter, exhibited the English lan- 
guage, in its successive stages of Saxon, Semi-Saxon, or Norman- 
Saxon, Old English, Middle English, and Modern English, from 
its birth to its maturity, in the age of Queen Elizabeth, when 
it passed from the stage of Middle English to that of Modern 
English, and from that epoch, by a few examples, to the middle 
of the present century. It ought, however, in passing, to be 
remarked, that though during her reign the capabilities of the 
language were fully developed in the forms of strength and ele- 
gance, both in prose and poetry, it was somewhat Latinized 
by such writers as Sir Thomas Browne, as afterward it was 
somewhat Gallicized by Dryden and the wits of Queen Anne's 
time, and as now, in certain quarters, it is becoming some- 
what Germanized. ' Having thus seen what the English lan- 
guage is in its purity, and beauty, and strength, in its full 
development, we are now prepared to pass to a consideration of 
its dialects and provincialisms. 



108 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER IV. 

1. Will you mention the several periods of the English language? 

2. To what is the term Semi-Saxon applied ? 

3. What is the grammatical distinction between the Anglo-Saxon, the Old 
English, and the Modern English 1 

4. What was the last characteristic distinction of Middle English which 
passed away 2 

5. In whose reign was Modern English introduced 1 ? 

6. In what three several ways has the language been somewhat injured — 
in Queen Elizabeth's reign 1 in Queen Anne's reign 1 in our times 2 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 1Q9 



CHAPTER Y. 

DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 

§ 84. A dialect is one branch of a language peculiar to a 
province, state, or kingdom. Thus, in the Greek language, 
there were the Attic, the Doric, the iEolic, and the Ionic dia- 
lects. A dialect has certain prominent idioms in its vocabulary, 
pronunciation, or orthography. 

An examination of the dialects of the English language is in- 
dispensable in order to understand its present condition, and also 
to learn historically how it came to its present condition. It is 
among the provincial dialects, too, that we discover many beau- 
tiful archaisms, which explain the obscurities of our ancient 
writers, which have so often bewildered the most acute com- 
mentators of works like Shakspeare's. These provincial modes 
of speech, however much they may be despised by fastidious 
critics, have actually preserved for us the origin of English 
phraseology, and enlightened the philologist in his efforts to walk 
in paths hitherto unexplored. 

EXISTING DIVERSITIES OF LANGUAGE IN ENGLAND. 

§ 85. Besides the Lowland Scotch, and the Graelic, and the 
Welsh languages, there are certain peculiarities which mark the 
language in different quarters of the island. Thus the language 
in the "Western counties differs from that spoken in the Eastern. 
The language in the Northern counties differs from that spoken 
in the Southern, while that of the Midland counties differs from 
all. These differences have long existed. Yerstigan, more 
than two hundred years ago, gave three different modes of pro- 
nouncing the same sentence. One at London would say, U I 
would eat more cheese if Iliad it." The Northern man saith, 
"Ay sud eat mare cheese gin ay had it." And the Western 
man saith, " Chud eat more cheese an chad it." 



HO HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



SOURCES OF EXISTING DIVERSITIES. 

§ 86. These are to be sought in the diverse origin of the peo- 
ple, or in some of those causes which produce diversities in lan- 
guage generally, as heretofore described in § 16. Calling to 
mind the Celts, the Romans, the Saxons, the Jutes, the Angles, 
the Danes, the Normans, who were ancestors of those who now 
dwell in England, we can not fail to expect diversities in lan- 
guage, as now written and spoken, originating in the languages 
of those nations and tribes. These existing diversities are evi- 
dently diminishing, as they naturally must, in the increased in- 
tercourse which is taking place by rail-road communication in 
different parts of the island, in the increasing intelligence of the 
people, and in the more extensive use of common standards of 
writing and speaking. 

LOWLAND SCOTCH. 

§ 87. The Lowland Scotch is substantially the same as the 
English, with certain specific differences in its written vocabu- 
lary and pronunciation. " Our common language," says Ellis, 
" was separately formed in the two countries, and owed its iden- 
tity to its being constructed of similar materials, by similar 
gradations, and by nations in the same state of society." It has 
been supposed that the Scotch was extensively derived from the 
Banish, as the English was from the Anglo-Saxon. In the pop- 
ular works of Burns and of Sir Walter Scott, we have such 
abundant specimens of Scotch peculiarities of dialect that it 
seems to be hardly necessary to give any in this work. 

dialect of the northern counties. 
§ 88. With many diversities, this is the dialect of Northum- 
berland, which resembles the Lowland Scotch of Cumberland, 
Durham, and Westmoreland. To these counties might be add- 
ed York and Lancaster, Derbyshire and Cheshire. They are, in 
general, remarkable for a broad pronunciation. In some places 
o is sounded for a ; as hond for hand ; eow for ou and ow, as 
keoto, theouy for cow, thou. In some places cauf is sounded for 
calf ; caw for call ; con for can ; foo for full ; howd for hold j 
haivpenny for halfpenny ; twoine for twine. 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. HI 



SPECIMEN OF THE CUMBERLAND DIALECT. 

What ails this heart o' mine 1 
What means this wat'ry e'e ? 
What gars me aye turn pale as death 

When I tak' leave of thee 1 

When thou art far awa' 

Thou'll dearer be to me ; 
But change of place and change o' folk 

May gar thy fancy jee. 

When I sit down at e'en, 

Or walk in morning air, 
Ilk rustling bough will seem to say, 

I used to meet thee there ; 

Then I'll sit down and wail 

And greet aneath a tree, 
And gin a leaf fa' i' my lap, 

I's ca't a word from thee. 

I'll hie me to the bow'r 

Where yews wi' roses tied, 
And where, wi' monie a blushing bud, 

I strove my face to hide ; 

I'll doat on ilka spot, 

Where I ha'e been wi' thee, 
And ca' to mind some kindly look 

'Neath ilka hollow tree. 

Wi' sic thoughts i' my mind, 

Time thro' the warl may gae, 
And find me still, in twenty years, 

The same as I'm to-day : 

'Tis friendship bears the sway, 

And keeps friends i' the e'e ; 
And gin I think I see thee still, 

Wha can part thee and me ? 

Here we have e'e for eye ; gar for make ; jee for crooked ; 
greet for weep ; aneath for beneath ; gin for if ; f for in ; 
monie for many ; ilka for each ; sic for such ; tak 1 for take. 



112 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



SPECIMEN OF THE YORKSHIRE DIALECT. 

Dicky Dickeson's Address toH knawn world; from the first number of 
the Yorkshire Comet, published in 1844. 

Dear Ivverybody, — Ah sudn't wonder bud, when some foak hear 
o' me startin' on a paper, they'll say, what in't world hez maade 
Dicky Dickeson bethink hizzen o' cummin' sich a caaper as that? 
AYah, if ye'll nobbut but hev hauf o't paatience o' Jobb, Ah'll try ta 
tell ya. Ye mun knaw, aboot six year sin', Ah wur i' a public 
hoose, wheare ther wur a fellur as wur braggin' on his larnin', an' so 
Ah axed what he knawed aboot ony knawledgement, an' he said he 
thowt he'd a rare lump moare information i' his heead ner Ah had i' 
mine. Noo, ye knaw, Ah sudn't ha' been a quarter as ill mad if 
ther hedn't been a lot o' chaps in't plaace 'at reckoned ta hev noa 
small share o' gumption. Soa, as sooin as Ah gat hoame that neet, 
Ah sware ta oor Bet, 'at as suare as shoo wur a match-hawker, Ah 
wud leearn all't polishments 'at Schooilmaister Gill could teich ma. 

Here we have Ah for I ; sudn't for should not ; bud for but ; 
foak for folk ; o' for of ; startin* for starting ; hizzen for him- 
self; nobbut for only ; hev for have ; hauf for half ; ya for you; 
ta for to ; knaw for know ; 'at for that ; aboot for about ; sin? 
for since ; wur for were ; wheare for where ; fellur for fellow ; 
heead for head ; ner for than ; hedn't for had not ; sooin for 
soon. 

DIALECT OF EAST ANGLIA, OR THE EASTERN COUN- 
TIES. 

§ 89. Under the term East Anglia are included the counties 
of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and portions of other coun- 
ties bounded upon them. The dialect of East Anglia, then, is 
the peculiar language of what are called " The Eastern Coun- 
ties." Forby remarks that " the most general and pervading 
characteristic of the pronunciation is a narrowness and tenuity, 
precisely the reverse of the round, sonorous, 'mouth-filling' tones 
of Northern English. This narrowness of utterance is, in some 
parts of this district, rendered still more offensive to ears not ac- 
customed to it by being delivered in a sort of shrill, whining re- 
citative. This has sometimes been called < the Suffolk whine.' n 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. H3 



SPECIMEN OF THE SUFFOLK DIALECT. 

Dear Frinnd, — I was axed some stounds agon by Billy P- 
our 'sesser at Mulladen, to make inqueration o' yeow if Master 



had pahd in that there money into the bank. Billy P he fare 

keinda unasy about it, and when I see him in church to-day he say, 
Jimmy, says he, prah ha yeow wrot. So I keinda wef 't um off, and 

I sah, says I, heent hard from Squire D as yet, but I dare sah I 

shall afore long. So prah write me some lines, an send me wahd, 
wutha the money is pahd a' nae. I don't know what to make of 
our Mulladen folks, nut I ; but somehow or another, they are allers 
in dibles, an I'll be rot if I don't begin to think some on em all 
tahn up scaly at last ; an as to that there fulla, he grow so big and 
so purdy that he want to be took down a peg ; and I am glad to 
hare that yeow gint it to em properly at Wickhum. 

DIALECT OF THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES. 

§ 90. This may be considered as embracing the peculiarities 
of Sussex, Kent, and Hampshire, though there are variations 
in each. In Sussex, hasp is pronounced hapse ; neck, nick; 
throat, throttle ; choke, chock. In East Sussex, day is pro- 
nounced dee. Ow final is pronounced as er ; as window, win- 
der. In Kent, day is pronounced daie ; how, who, and who, 
how. 

SPECIMEN OF THE DIALECT OF KENT. 

And certaynly our langage now used varyeth ferr from that 
which was used and spoken when I was borne, for we Englyshemen, 
ben borne under the domynacyon of the mone, which is never sted- 
faste, but ever waverynge, waxing one season, and waneth and 
dyscreaseth another season, and that comyn Englysshe that is 
spoken in one shyre, varyeth from another, insomoche that in my 
days happened that certain marchauntes were in a shippe in Tamyse 
for to haue sayled over the see into Zelande, and fra lacke of wynde 
thei taryed at Forland, and went to lande for to refreshe them. 
And one of theym, named ShefFelde, a mercer, cam into an hows 
and axyd for mete, and specyally he axyd after eggys ; and the 
good wyf answerde that she coude speke no Frenshe, and the mar- 
chaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no Frenshe, but wolde have 
had eggys, and she understood hym not. And then, at laste, anoth- 
er sayd that he wolde have eyren, Then the good wyf sayd that 

H 



114 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

she understood hym wel. Loo, what sholde a man in theyse days 
now wryte, egges or eyren ! Certaynly, it is hard to playse every 
man, because of diversite and chaunge of langage. — "W. Caxon, 
1490. 

SPECIMEN OF THE SUSSEX DIALECT. 

Tom Clodpole's Journey to Lunnun. 

Last Middlemus I 'member well, 

When harvest was all over, 
Us cheps had housed up all de banes, 

An stocked up all de clover. 

I think, says I, I'll take a trip 

To Lunnun, dat I wol, 
An see how things goo on a bit, 

Lest I shud die a fool. 

For sister Sal, five years agoo, 

Went off wud Squyer Brown ; 
Housemaid or summut ; don't know what, 

To live at Lunnun town. 

Dey 'hav'd uncommon well to Sal, 

An ge 'ur clothes an dat ; 
So Sal 'hav'd nation well to dem, 

An grow'd quite tall an fat. 

I ax'd ol' Ben to let me goo, 

Hem rum ol' fellur he, 
He scratch'd his wig, " To Lunnun, Tom V* 

Den turn'd his quid, " I'll see." 

So strate to mother home goos I, 

An thus to ur did say, 
Mother, I'll goo an see our Sal, 

For measter says I may. 

De poor ol' gal did shake her head, 

Ah ! Tom, 'twon't never do ; 
Poor Sal has gone a tejus way, 

An must I now loose you ? 

Here we have banes for beans ; dat for that ; wol for will ; 
summut for something ; dem for them ; rum for queer ; meas- 
ter for master ; HwonH for it will not ; an for and. 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. H5 



DIALECT OF THE WESTERN COUNTIES. 

§ 91. Among these counties, Cornwall, Devonshire, and Som- 
ersetshire may be particularly mentioned as having certain pe- 
culiarities, as compared with some other parts of England. In 
some parts of Cornwall and of some other counties, for to milk 
they say to milky ; for to squint, to squnny ; for know, knaw ; 
for horses, hosses ; for pictures, picters ; for with, weth. 

SPECIMEN OF THE CORNISH DIALECT. 

The Cornwall Schoolboy* 
An ould man found, one day, a yung gentleman's portmantle as he 
were a going to his dennar ; he took'd it en and gived it to es wife, 
and said, " Mally, here's a roul of lither : look, see, I suppoase some 
poor old shoemaker or other have los'en ; tak'en, and put'en a top of 
the teaster of tha bed ; he'll be glad to hav'en agen sum day, I dear 
say." The ould man, Jan, that was es neame, went to es work as be- 
fore. Mally then open'd the portmantle, and found in it three hun- 
derd pounds. Soon after this, the ould man, not being very well, 
Mally said, " Jan, Pave saaved away a little money, by-the-by, and 
as thee caan't read or write, thee shu'st go to scool." (He was then 
nigh threescore and ten.) He went but a very short time, and 
corned hoam one day, and said, ." Mally, I woin't go to scool no more, 
'caase the childer do be laffen at me ; they can tell their letters, and 
I caan't tell my ABC, and I wud rayther go to work agen." " Do 
as thee wool," ses Mally. Jan had not ben out many days afore 
the yung gentleman came by that lost the portmantle, and said, 
" Well, my ould man, did'ee see or hear tell of sich a thing as a 
portmantle ?" " Portmantle, sar ! was't that un sumthing like thick- 
ey?" (pointing to one behind his saddle): "I found one the t'other day 
zackly like that." " Where is it ?" " Come along ; I carr'd'en in, 
and given to my wife Mally ; thee sha't av'en. Molly, where is that 
roul of lither that I gived tha the t'other day ?" " What roul of 
lither V said Mally. " The roul of lither I bro't in and tould tha 
to put'en a top of the teaster of the bed, afore I go'd to scool." 
" 'Drat tha imperance," said the gentleman, " thee art betwotched ; 
that was before I were born." — Specimens of the Cornish Dialect, by 
Uncle Jan Treenoodle. 

Here we have et for it ; gived for gave ; los'en for lost ; haVen 
for have ; dear for dare ; ould for old ; hunderd for hundred ; 
wud for would ; thickey for this ; shaH for shalt, &c. 



116 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

SPECIMEN OF THE DEVONSHIRE DIALECT. 

John Chawbacon and his wife Moll cum up f Exeter to zee the rail- 
way opened, May 21, 1847. 

" Lor, Johnny ! Lor, Johnny ! now whativur is that, 
A urn'ng along like a hoss upon wheels ? 
'Tis as bright as yer buttons, and black as yer hat ; 
And jist listen, Johnny, and yer how 'a sqeals !" 

" Dash my buttons, Moll, I'll be darn'd if I know ! 

Us was vools to come yere and to urn into danger ; 
Let's be off! 'a spits vire ! Lor, do let us go ! 

And 'a holds up his head like a goose at a stranger. 

" I be a bit vrightened ; but let us bide yere ; 

And hark how 'a puffs, and 'a caughs, and 'a blows ! 
He edden unlike the old cart-hoss last yer — 

Broken-winded ; and yet only zee how 'a goes !" 

" 'A can't be alive, Jan — I don't think 'a can." 

" I baen't sure o' that, Moll ; for jist lookee how 
'A breathes like a hoss, or a znivell'd old man ; 

And hark how he's bust out a caughing, good now ! 

"I wouldn't go homeward b'm-by to the varm 

Behind such a critter : when all's zed and dun, 
We've a travell'd score miles, but we never got harm, 
Vor ther's nort like a market-cart under the zun." 

THE COCKNEY DIALECT. 

I. Phonology. 

§ 92. 1. The Londoner or Cockney pronounces w for v, and 
v for w ; weal for veal ; vicked for wicked. He seems not to 
have understood why the consonant u of the Latins, which was 
not distinguished in writing from the vowel u, should be pro- 
nounced v ( = bh), while the consonant u of the Anglo-Saxons, 
which had a distinct character from the vowel u, was pro- 
nounced w. And it must be confessed that the rule is some- 
what arbitrary. This interchange of w and v is the most offen- 
sive peculiarity of the Cockney dialect. 

2. The Londoner is also accustomed to omit the sound of h at 
the beginning of words, and to pronounce it where it does not 
belong; as, art for heart ; harm for arm. 



MALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. H7 

3. He has a fondness for the sound ofy (=dzh) ; as, furbidge 
for furbish ; radidges for radishes ; rubbidge for rubbish ; to 
scrowdge for to crowd; skrimidge for skirmish ; squeedge for 
squeeze. 

4. He sometimes transposes letters, especially where r is con- 
cerned ; as, ax for ask ; polar etic for paralytic ; perdigious 
for prodigious ; perwent for prevent ; progidy for prodigy ; 
vemon for venom ; vemonous for venomous. 

5. He sometimes inclines to repeat the same vowel ; as, col- 
loguing for colleaguing ; nisi prisi for nisi prius ; obstropo- 
lous for obstreperous. 

6. He sometimes employs a lingual d or t after a lingual n 
or /, by epenthesis or paragoge ; as, drownded for drowned ; 
gownd for gown ; partender for partner ; bacheldor for Z>acA- 
e/or; mar gent for margin ; regiment for regimen; sermont 
for sermon ; surgeont for surgeon ; verment for vermin. 

7. He employs a £ after a sibilant ; as, dost and closter for 
c/ose and closer ; nyst and nyster for m'ce and m'cer / sms£ for 
since ; wonst for ewce. 

8. He sometimes makes an unnecessary syllable ; as, beast-es 
for beasts ; fist-es for fists ; ghost-es for ghosts ; mist-es for 
mist ; post-es for post. 

9. He sometimes lays a false accent ; as, blasphemous for 6/as- 
phemous ; character for character ; contrary for contrary. 

II. Derivation of Words. 

1. The Londoner sometimes confounds two different forms ; 
as, contagious for contiguous ; eminent for imminent ; humor- 
ous for humor some ; ingeniously for ingenuously ; luxurious 
for luxuriant ; scrupulosity for scruple ; successfully for swc- 

2. He sometimes forms words on the wrong model ; as, &<£■ 
miraltry for admiralty ; commonality for commonalty ; curous 
for curious ; curosity for curiosity ; debiliated for debilitated ; 
despisable for despicable ; loveyer for lover; mayor altry for 
mayoralty ; necessuated for necessitated ; stupendious for sta- 
pendous. 

3. He sometimes forms words on a false model ; as, attacted 
like transacted ; duberous and industerous like boisterous; 



118 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

musicianer like practitioner ; jocotious like ferocious ; sum- 
monsed as if from summons ; vulgularity like singularity. 

4. He sometimes mistakes the word altogether ; as, aggra- 
vate for irritate ; an otomy for anatomy ; argufy for signify ; 
conquest for concourse ; mislest for molest ; moral for model ; 
pee-ashes for piazzas ; refuge for refuse ; stagnated for stag- 
gered ; vocation for vacation. 

III. Composition of Words. 
The Londoner sometimes retains the prefixes be and a, which 
have been discarded ; as, begrudge, unbeknown ; a-cold, a-dry, 
a-hungry 

IV. Inflection. 

1. The Londoner sometimes repeats the definite article ; as, 
the f other for the other. 

2. He uses double comparatives and superlatives ; as, worser 
for ivorse. 

3. He forms hisn, ourn, hern, yourn, like mine, thine. 

4. He forms hisself and theirselves regularly. 

5. He has adopted the modern inflection in some verbs, where 
it has not been generally followed ; as, see'd for saw ; know'd 
for knew ;. corned for came. 

6. He forms fit for fought ; comp. light, pret. lit. 

7. He uses the past tense for the perfect participle ; as, fell 
for fallen ; rose for risen ; took for taken ; went for gone ; 
wrote for written. 

8. He uses no-hows for no-how, and no-wheres for no- 
where. 

Y. Syntax or Construction. 

1. He uses the accusative for the nominative ; as, can us for 
can we ; have us for have we ; may us for may we ; shall us 
for shall we. 

2. He employs double negatives, like the ancient Anglo-Sax- 
ons ; as, i" don't know nothing about it. 

3. The use of the ancient full expression, which has been 
abridged in modern times ; as, and so for simple so ; how that 
and as hoiv, denoting the simple fact ; if so be as how, denot- 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. H9 

ing a contingency ; for to, denoting a purpose ; for why or be- 
cause why, denoting the reason. 

4. Idiomatic expressions ; as, a few while for a little while ; 
to fetch a walk for to take a walk ; what is gone with such 
an one ? for what is become of such an one ? to learn for to 
teach ; what may his name be ? for what is his name ? what 
should he be? for what is he? to remember for to remind; 
gone dead like gone crazy ; this here for this ; that there for 
that. 

The following little dialogue is said to have passed between a 
London citizen and his servant. 

Citizen. Yilliam, I vants my vig. 

Servant. Vitch vig, sir ? 

Citizen. Vy, the vite vig in the vooden vig-box, vitch I vore 
last Yensday at the westry. 

The peculiarities of the Cockney dialect have been fully illus- 
trated in the writings of Dickens. 

It will probably be long before the dialectical varieties of the 
English, though they are constantly diminishing, will give place 
to the high models offered by their best scholars and statesmen. 

AMERICAN DIALECTS. 
CAUSES OF EXISTING DIALECTICAL DIVERSITIES. 

§ 93. 1. One cause is found in the diversities of origin of the 
immigrant population of the United States. The first settlers, 
from different parts of England, brought with them the varieties 
of dialect then existing in the mother country. "What those va- 
rieties were we have seen in the present chapter. To these 
were added the Dutch, or the Low Germanic language of the 
State of New- York, kindred, indeed, to the English, but differ- 
ing widely from it ; the German, or the High Germanic language, 
spoken by hundreds of thousands in Pennsylvania and elsewhere ; 
the French and Spanish languages, spoken in Louisiana, Florida, 
and Mexico ; the Irish, the Italian, the Swedish, the Danish, the 
Norwegian, spoken in small settlements, or by individuals scat- 
tered through the mass of the American population. Moreover, 
Asiatics and Polynesians are pouring themselves into California, 
and introducing some of their vernacular words into the body 
of the language ; at least as it is spoken there. Hundreds of 



120 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

thousands of immigrants, from different portions of Europe, are 
every year finding homes in our country, bringing their language 
with them y to communicate some portion of it to others, and to 
transmit it to their immediate descendants. 

2. The second cause of existing dialectical varieties in the 
United States is found in objects of thought peculiar to this 
country, requiring different terms from those used in En- 
gland. 

CLASSIFICATION OF AMERICANISMS. 

§ 94. The peculiarities of the English language, as spoken in 
America, may be arranged under the following heads : 

I. Words borrowed from other languages, with which the Env 
glish language has come in contact in this country, 

1. Indian words, borrowed from the original native tribes; 
Here belong many geographical proper names ; as, Kennebec ( 
Ohio, Tombigbee ; also a few appellatives ; as sagamore, qua- 
haug, succotash. 

2. Dutch words, derived from the first settlers in New York ; 
as, boss, a master ; kruller ; stoop, the steps of a door. 

3. German words, derived from the Germans in Pennsylvania j 
as, spuke, sauerkraut. 

4. French words, derived from the first settlers in Canada and 
Louisiana ; as, bayou, cache, chute, crevasse, levee. 

5. Spanish words, from the first settlers of Louisiana, Florida,, 
and Mexico ; as, calaboose, chaparral, hacienda, rancho, ran- 
chero. 

6. Negro words,, derived from the Africans ; as, buckra* 
All these are foreign words. 

II. Words introduced from the necessity of gut situation, in 
order to express new ideas. 

1. Words connected with and flowing from our political insti- 
tutions ; as, selectman, presidential congressional, caucus? 
mass-meeting, lynch-law, help for servants. 

2. Words connected with our ecclesiastical institutions ; as, 
associational, consociational, to fellowship, to missionate. 

3. Words connected with a new country ; as lot, a portion of 
land ; diggings, betterments, squatter. 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 121 

Some of these words are rejected by good writers. They are 
not of such a nature as make a new dialect. 

III. The remaining peculiarities, the only ones which are truly 
distinctive, fall for the most part under the following heads : 

1. Old words and phrases which have become obsolete in En- 
gland ; as, talented ; offset for set-off ; back and forth for back- 
ward and forward. 

2. Old words and phrases which are now merely provincial in 
England ; as, hub, now used in the midland counties of En- 
gland ; whap, a provincialism in Somersetshire ; to wilt, now 
used in the south and west of England. 

3. Nouns formed from verbs by adding the French suffix 
ment ; as, publishment for publication ; releasement for release ; 
requirement for requisition. As the verbs here are all French, 
the forms of the nouns are undoubtedly ancient. 

4. Forms of words which fill the gap or vacancy between two 
words which are approved ; as, obligate, comp. oblige and ob- 
ligation ; variate, comp. vary and variation. The existence 
of the two extremes confirms the propriety of the mean. 

5. Certain compound terms for which the English have a dif- 
ferent compound ; as, bank-bill for bank-note ; book-store for 
bookseller's shop ; bottom-land for interval land ; clapboard for 
a pale ; sea-board for sea-shore ; side-hill for hill-side. The 
correctness of one compound, in such cases, does not prove the 
incorrectness of the other. 

6. Certain colloquial phrases, apparently idiomatic, and very 
expressive ; as, to cave in, to give up ; to flare up, to get ex- 
cited suddenly ; to flunk out, to retire through fear ; to fork 
over, to pay over ; to hold on, to wait ; to let on, to mention j 
to stave off, to delay ; to take on, to grieve. 

7. Certain words used to express intensity, whether as adjec- 
tives or adverbs, which is often a matter of mere temporary 
fashion ; as, dreadful, mighty, plaguy, powerful. 

8. Certain verbs expressing one's state of mind, but partially 
or timidly ; as, to allot upon, to count upon ; to calculate, to 
expect or believe ; to expect, to think or believe ; to guess, to 
think or believe ; to reckon, to think or imagine. The use of 
these words depends much on the temperament of the individual. 



122 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

9. Certain adjectives, expressing not only the quality, but one's 
subjective feelings in regard to it; as, clever, grand, green, 
likely, smart, ugly. 

10. Certain abridged expressions ; as, stage for stage-coach ; 
turnpike for turnpike-road ; spry for sprightly ; to conduct for 
to conduct one's self. There is a tendency in most languages to 
such contractions. 

11. Quaint or burlesque terms, whether verbs ; as, to tote, to 
yank ; or nouns ; as, humbug, loafer, muss ; plunder for bag- 
gage ; rock for a stone. 

12. Certain very low expressions, mostly political ; as, slang 
ivhanger, loco foco, hunker ; to get the hang of a thing for to 
learn how to do it. 

13. Ungrammatical expressions, disapproved by all ; as, do 
donH ; used to could for could formerly ; canH come it for can't 
do it : Universal preacher for Universalist preacher ; there's no 
two ways about it for it is just so. 

LOCAL PECULIARITIES. 

§ 95. To the question whether there is an American-English 
dialect, an answer must be given in the affirmative or the neg- 
ative, according as you extend or contract the meaning of 
the term dialect. "When reading the pages of Judge Halibur- 
ton's Sam Slick, or one of Major Jack Downing's Letters, 
we are ready to admit, if they furnish a fair exhibition of lan- 
guage in actual use, that the difference between it and the best 
English is so great as to constitute it a dialect. But they are 
caricatures. Still, are there not actual differences, extending 
generally through the country, as great, or nearly as great, as ob- 
tained between the Ionic and the Attic dialects in Greece ? It 
should, however, be remembered, that the dialectical differences 
which obtained in Greece are exhibited by the best authors, 
whereas there are no dialectical differences between our best 
writers and those of England. Everett, and Prescott, and 
Irving, write in a style as purely English as the best English 
writers. The number of good writers in the United States, as 
measured by English standards, is probably greater than in En- 
gland, though it must be conceded that the number of first-rate 
writers is fewer. The people of the United States, descended 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 123 

from English ancestors, have, in consequence of common school 
education and the use of the same standards, fewer dialectical 
peculiarities than the people of England. 

Whatever may be the correct answer to the question at the 
head of the last paragraph, it must be granted that there are 
certain local peculiarities which distinguish, 1. The people of 
New England. 2. The people of the Southern States. 3. Some 
of the Western States. 

The people of New England, especially those who live in the 
interior, have inherited marked peculiarities of pronunciation 
and phraseology, which distinguish them from the people of oth- 
er parts of the country, though these peculiarities, constantly 
diminishing, are not as great as similar ones existing in some 
counties of the mother country. A distinguished English scholar 
informed the writer that the peculiarities attributed to the peo- 
ple of New England were constantly met with in Suffolk, where 
he was bred and born. The drawling pronunciation of the Yan- 
kees has an equivalent in the " Suffolk whine." 

The people of the Southern States have a more full, and open ? 
and mellifluous pronunciation than the people of New England, 
though they do not articulate the consonantal sounds so dis- 
tinctly. 

The people of the West have great variety in their pecul- 
iar style of expression and in their pronunciation, which is ex- 
tensively similar to the districts from which they or their ances- 
tors emigrated. 

SPECIMENS OP AMERICANISMS. 

§ 96. Above my bend = out of my power. Absquatulate = 
to run away. All-fired— very. To allot upon = to intend. 
Amazing = wonderfully. Amost = almost. Any how you can 
fix it = any rate whatever. Any manner of means = any means. 
To appreciate^ to raise the value of, or rise in value. Any= 
either. Avails = profits or proceeds. Awful = disagreeable, 
ugly. Back and forth = backward and forward (New Eng.). 
Backwoodsman = an inhabitant of the forest on the western 
frontiers of the United States. To back out = to retreat from a 
difficulty. Bad box = bad predicament. Balance = the re- 
mainder (South). Bang = excel; as, "This bangs all things." 



124 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

Bankable = receivable at a bank. Bank-bill = bank-note. Bark 
lp the wrong tree = mistake one's object or cause. Barrens == 
plains upon which grow small trees, but never timber. Bee == 
a collection of people who unite their labors for an individual or 
a family, as a quilting -bee. Bee-line = a straight line from 
one point to another. Better, for more ; as, " It is better than 
a year since we met" Betterments = improvements on new 
land. B'hoys = noisy young men in the city of New York. 
Bi-g bugs — people of consequence. BiME-BY=in a short time. 
Blazed mark on trees for guiding travelers. Blow-up = a 
quarrel. To blow up = to scold. Bobolink = skunk black-bird = 
rice bunting. Bogus money = counterfeit money. Boss = mas- 
ter. Bossy, a name applied to a calf. Bottom land, a term 
applied to low land on the bank of a river. Breachy, a term 
applied to runaway oxen. Breadstuff = bread, corn-meal, or 
flour. Brother chip = person of the same trade. Buncombe is 
a term applied to speeches made for electioneering purposes. 
Calculate = expect or believe (N. E.). To carry ON = to frolic. 
Caucus = private meeting of politicians. To be a caution = to 
be a warning. To cave iN=to give up. Chay= chaise (N. E.). 
Chicken fixings = chicken fricasseed. Chirp = lively (N. Eng.). 
To chomp = to champ. Chores small work. Clam-shell = 
lips or mouth. To clear out = to take one's self off. Clever = 
good-natured or obliging. Cleverly = well. Clip = a blow. To 
conducts to conduct one's self. Considerable = very. Conso- 
ciation is the fellowship or union of churches by their pastors 
and delegates. CooKEY = a cake. Corduroy road is a road 
made of logs laid together over swamps. Corn = maize. Corn- 
dodger is a cake made of Indian corn. To cotton to is to like 
or fancy. Cracker is a small hard biscuit. Curious = excel- 
lent (N. E.). To cut DiRT = to run. Cute — sharp, cunning 
(N. E.). Darkey, a term for negro. Deadening = girdling trees. 
To DEED=to convey by deed. Demoralize = to corrupt the 
morals. Desk = pulpit. Dickers to barter. Difficulted = 
perplexed. Diggings = neighborhood or section of the country 
(West.). Donate = to give as a donation. Done gone = ruined. 
Done brown = thoroughly. Done for = cheated. Do don't = 
do not (G-a.). Don't = do not, sometimes improperly used for 
does not. Do tell != is it possible! (N. E.) Drumming = so- 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 125 

liciting of customers. E'en a'most = almost. To energize = 
to give active vigor to. Everlasting = very. To fall = to fell, 
to cut down, as to fall a tree. To fellowship with = to hold 
communion with. On the fence means to be neutral, and to 
be ready to join the strongest party. First-rate = superior. 
Fix — a condition, a dilemma. Fixings = arrangements. A fixed 
fact = a well-established fact. To fizzle out = to prove a fail- 
ure. To flare up = to get excited suddenly. To flat out = 
to prove a failure. To get the floors to be in possession of 
the house. To flunk out = to retire through fear. Fogy = a 
stupid fellow. To be forehanded = to be comfortably off. To 
fork over = to pay over. To fox boots = to foot boots. Fresh- 
et = the overflowing of a river. Full chisel = at full speed. 
Full swing = full sway. Gal-boy is a romping girl. To give 
him the mitten is to discard a lover. Go ahead = to go for- 
ward. To go BY=to call, to stop at (So. & West). To go it 
strong = to act with vigor. To go the whole figure = to go to 
the greatest extent. Going = the state of the road. Goings-on = 
behavior. Gone goose = ruined. Green = inexperienced, En- 
glish, verdant. Guess = think, believe. Grit = courage. Gul- 
ly is a channel worn in the earth by a current of water. Hain't, 
for have not (N. E.). To get the hang of a thing is to get the 
knack. To happen m=to come in accidentally. Hard run = 
to be hard pressed. To have a say = to express an opinion. To 
head off = to get before. Heap = a great deal. Help = serv- 
ants. Het cheated. Hide = to beat. Hitch horses togeth- 
er = to agree. Hoe-cake is a cake of Indian meal. To hold 
on = to stop. Holp=: helped (So.). Hook = to steal. Housen = 
houses (N. E.). Hove = heaved. Hull = whole. Husking = 
stripping off husks from Indian corn. Improve = to occupy 
(N. E.). Indian FiLE = single file. To jump AT = to embrace 
with eagerness. To keep company = to court. Keeping-room is 
the sitting-room (N. E.). KiNK = a knot, a notion. Knocked 
into a cocked hat = knocked out of shape. Lay = share. Leg- 
gins are Indian gaiters. Lengthy = having length. To let 
oN = to mention. To lick = to beat. Likely == handsome. 
Limpsey= flexible. To liquor = to take a dram. Loafer == 
an idle lounger. To lobby is to endeavor to exert an influence 
on a legislative body. Lot = a number. Lynch law is punish- 



126 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

ment executed by the mob, without legal forms. To make 
tracks == to leave. Mass-meeting is a large meeting called for 
some special purpose. Meechin = a person with a downcast look. 
Mighty = great, very. Mush is Indian meal boiled in water. 
Muss = disorder. Nary one = neither. Non-committal = that 
does not commit itself to a particular measure. Notions ±= small 
wares or trifles. Hadn't ought is used improperly for ought not. 
Onto for on. Out of sorts = out of order. Out op fix = dis- 
ordered. To peek = to pry into. ¥vRT=perk= lively. Peskily= 
extremely. Pe sky = very. Pickaninny = a negro or mulatto in- 
fant. A pick-up dinners a dinner made of fragments. Pimp- 
ing = little. On a pinch = on an emergency. Prr = a kernel. 
Plaguy sight = a great deal (N. E.). To plank = to lay. Plead 
or pled is used improperly for pleaded. Plenty for plentiful. 
Plunders personal baggage (So. & West.). Powerful = very 
great. Pretty considerable = very (So.). To stay puT=to 
remain in order. To qualify = to swear to perform the duties 
of an office. Race is a strong current of water. To rake and 
scrape = to collect. Real = really. To reckon := to think. 
Result = the decision of a council or assembly. Rich = enter- 
taining. Risky = dangerous. RocK=a stone (S. &W.). Row- 
dy = riotous fellow. Run of stones = two mill-stones. Salt- 
lick = a saline spring. Sawyer = a tree in a river rising and 
falling with the waves. Screamer is a bouncing boy or girl. 
Settle = to ordain in a parish. Shanty = a hut. Shorts = the 
bran and coarse part of the meal. Slice = a fire-shovel. Smart 
chance = a good deal. To slick up=to dress up. To snake 
out = to drag out. Snicker = to laugh slily. Snooze = to sleep. 
Sozzle is a sluttish woman. Sparking = courting. Splurge = 
a blustering effort (S. &W.). Spry = nimble. To squat = to 
settle on new land without a title. To stave off = to delay. 
Stickling = delaying. To feel streaked = to feel confused. 
To suck m = to deceive. To take oN=to grieve. Tall = ex- 
cellent, fine. Tell = a saying. Tight = close, parsimonious. 
Tore = dead grass that remains on the ground. To tote = to 
convey (So.). Traps = goods. Ugly = ill-tempered (N. E.). 
Upper-crust = the aristocracy. Used to could = could former- 
ly (So.). Varmint — vermin. Walk into = get the upper hand 
of. Yank = to twitch powerfully. 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 127 



TENDENCIES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN 
AMERICA. 

§ 97. The dialectical varieties of language in England have 
chiefly been transmitted from former generations. The dialeo 
tical varieties of language in America have, on the other hand, 
for the most part, sprung up recently : they are the product of 
that growth of language which can not be repressed, any more 
than can the general activity of the human soul. In this coun- 
try, in this " wilderness of free minds," new thoughts, and cor- 
responding new expressions, spring up spontaneously, to live their 
hour or to be permanent. As our countrymen are spreading 
westward across the continent, and are brought into contact 
with other races, and adopt new modes of thought, there is some 
danger that, in the use of their liberty, they may break loose 
from the laws of the language, and become marked not only by 
one, but by a thousand Shibboleths. 

Now, in order to keep the language of a nation one, the lead- 
ing men in the greater or smaller communities, the editors of 
periodicals, and authors generally, should exercise the same, 
guardian care over it which they do over the opinions which it 
is used to express ; and, for this purpose, they should be famil- 
iar with works which treat of its analogies and idioms, that they 
may understand what are the laws of normal and of abnormal 
growth, and by their own example and influence encourage only 
that which is strictly legitimate. See Preface. 

The apprehension has sometimes been expressed that, in the 
progress of time, the Americans would, in their ready invention 
and adoption of flash words and slang, so change and corrupt their 
mother tongue, that they would speak, not the English, but an 
American language ; while among themselves great diversities 
would exist, as now exist in the counties of England. This ap- 
prehension, whether on this side of the Atlantic or the other, 
seems to be passing off. It is getting to be understood that the 
existing dialectical differences are not so great as in the mother 
country, while the increasing intercourse between the two na- 
tions, and the increasing interchange of the literary productions 
of each, will help to preserve the oneness of the language. " You 
Americans," said a distinguished foreign scholar to the present 



128 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

writer, " have a taste and talent for language. Your dictiona- 
ries, and grammars, and lexicons, and exegetical works, do great 
credit to your national literature." Moreover, our scholars are 
educated in the same linguistic principles as English scholars, 
and they have before them the same high models. 

And though we have our fears, yet we also have our hopes, 
that diversities, and vulgarisms, and slang will not greatly or 
permanently increase. If the Anglo-Saxon race are destined to 
become a mighty continental nation, the system of common 
school education, the use of the same text-books in the institu- 
tions of learning, and of the same periodicals and reading-books 
in families, the mighty power of the press, urged on by those 
who have "drunk from the wells of English undenled," and 
brought to bear upon the whole population, will help to keep the 
people of the United States one in language as one in govern- 
ment. And though it should be conceded that the best authors 
and public speakers in England have the advantage of many of 
the leading minds in our own country in idiomatic raciness and 
finished eloquence, it should, in justice, be claimed that the great 
mass of the people of the United States speak and write their 
vernacular tongue with more correctness than the common peo- 
ple of Grreat Britain. 

Having, in the preceding chapters, examined the historical 
and dialectical relations of the English language, we are now 
prepared to estimate its general character. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER V. 

1. What is a dialect? 

2. What advantage is there in studying the English dialects? 

3. What can you say of the origin of the English dialects? 

4. What is said of the dialect of Scotland ? 

5. What are some of the characteristics of the dialect of the Northern 
counties ? 

0. What are some of the characteristics of the dialect of the Eastern coun- 
ties? 

7. What are some of the characteristics of the dialect of the Southern 
counties? 

8. What are some of the characteristics of the dialect of the Western coun- 
ties? 



DIALECTS AND PROVINCIALISMS. 129 

9. Give some account of the Cockney dialect as to phonology, derivation 
of words, composition of words, inflection, syntax. 

10. Mention the causes of existing dialeotical diversities in the United 
States. 

11. Give the classification of Americanisms, namely, the three divisions 
and their subdivisions. 

12. Is there an American-English dialect ? 

13. What are some of the peculiarities of language in the Eastern States'? 
in the Southern States ? in the Western States ? 

I 



130 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPOSITE. 

§ 98. In the history of the English language, we have seen 
that the principal elements which enter into its composition are,, 

1. Celtic words,, found either in the older hranch of the Gaelic 
or in the youmger branch of the Cambrian- 

2. Latin words, introduced at different periods, 

3. Saxon words, of the Low-Germanic division of the Teuton- 
ic branch of the Gothic stock. These constitute the great body 
of the language. 

4. Danish words, of the Scandinavian branch of the Gothic* 

5. Norman words,, a mixture of French and Scandinavian. It 
is also enriched by contributions from the Greek and Hebrew, 
the French, the Italian, the Spanish, the German, and other lan- 
guages. 

u We Britons," says Harris, " in our time, have been remark- 
able borrowers, as our multiform language may sufficiently show. 
Our terms in polite literature prove this, that they came from 
Greece ; our terms in music and painting, that these came from 
Italy ; our phrases in cookery and war, that we learned these 
from the French ; and our phrases in navigation, that we were 
taught by the Flemings and Low Dutch." 

" Though our comparison might be bold, it would be just if 
we were to say that the English language is a conglomerate of 
Latin words bound together in a Saxon cement ; the fragments 
of the Latin being partly portions introduced directly from the 
parent quarry, with all their sharp edges, and partly pebbles of 
the same material, obscured and shaped by long rolling in a Nor- 
man or some other channel." — Whewell's History of the In- 
ductive Sciences. 

Camden observes : " Whereas our tongue is mixed, it is no 
disgrace. This theft of words is no less warranted by the privi- 



CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 131 

lege of a, prescription, ancient and universal, than was that of 
goods among the Lacedaemonians by an enacted law ; for so the 
Greeks robbed the Hebrews, the Latines the Greeks (which filch- 
ing Cicero, with a large discourse, in his book De Oratore de- 
fendeth), and, in a manner, all Christian nations the Latine. 
The Italian is pleasant, but without sinewes, as still, fleeting 
water. The French delicate, but even nice as a woman, scarce 
daring to open her lippes for fear of marring her countenance. 
The Spanish majestical, but fulsome, running too much on the 
o, terrible like the Divell in the play. The Dutch manlike, but 
withal very harsh, as one ready at every word to picke a quar- 
rell. Now we, in borrowing from them, give the strength of the 
consonants to the Italian ; the full sound of words to the French ; 
the variety of terminations to the Spanish ; and the mollifying 
of more vowels to the Dutch ; and so, like bees, we gather the 
honey of their good properties, and leave the dregs to themselves. 
And thus, when substantialnesse combineth with delightfulnesse, 
fullnesse with finenesse, seemlinesse with portlinesse, and cur- 
rentnesse with staydnesse, how can the language which consist- 
eth in all these sound other than full of all sweetnesse ?" — Cam- 
den's Remains, p. 38. 

In allusion to having advantageously borrowed from other 
languages, a Danish poet by the name of Harderus compli- 
ments the English in the following elegant allusion : 

Perfectam Veneris faciem picturus Apelles, 

Virgineos tota legit in urbe Greges. 
Quicquid in electis pulchrum vel amababile formis 

Repperit, in Papbiae transtulit ora deae. 
Excessit nova forma modum ; se pluribus una 

Debuit, at cunctis pulchrior una fuit, 
Effigies Veneris, quam sic collegit Apelles, 

Effigies linguae est ilia, Brittanne, tuae. 

COPIOUSNESS. 

§ 99. From its composite character, we are prepared to ex- 
pect that it would be copious in i,ts vocabulary and phrases. 
What Camden says of the Anglo-Saxon is more strikingly true 
of the English, enriched as it has been by contributions from 
the Norman, the Latin and Greek, and other languages. In- 
deed, there are large classes of words derived from the Norman 



132 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

or other languages, or from the classical languages, which are, 
in common parlance, synonymous with words derived from the 
Anglo-Saxon, so that a writer may have his choice whether to 
use the Romanic or the Gothic elements. Thus it has happen- 
ed that, from the composite character of the language as well as 
from its natural growth with the growth of knowledge, there are 
abundant materials for every species of writing. 

It is said by De Paw that no book can be translated into the 
Algonquin or the Brazilian languages, nor even into the Mexican 
or Peruvian, solely from their want of words. On the other 
hand, the vocabulary of the English language is perhaps as co- 
pious as any other. It contains, in "Webster's and Worces- 
ter's dictionaries, something like one hundred thousand words. 

THE NUMBER OF ANGLO-SAXON WORDS. 

§ 100. Whether we take into view the number or the sorts of 
words, the Anglo-Saxon is less an element than the mother- 
tongue of the English. In the English language there are as 
many as twenty-three thousand words of Anglo-Saxon origin. 
From an examination of passages from the Bible, Shakspeare, 
Milton, Cowley, Thomson, Addison, Spenser, Locke, Pope,Young, 
Gibbon, Johnson, it appears that in one thousand four hundred 
and ninety-two words in sentences taken from these authors, 
there are only two hundred not Saxon. Upon this basis of cal- 
culation, it appears that four fifths of the words in actual use 
are of Anglo-Saxon origin. See § 108. 

THE KIND OF ANGLO-SAXON WORDS. 

§ 101. The names of the greater part of the objects of nature ; 
as, sun, moon, stars, day, light, heat ; all those words which 
express vividly bodily action ; as, to sit, to stand, to stagger ; 
all those words which are expressive of the earliest and dearest 
connections ; as, father, mother, brother, sister, are Anglo-Sax- 
on. Moreover, all those words which have been earliest used, 
and which are invested with the strongest associations ; most 
of those objects about which the practical reason is employed in 
common life ; nearly all our national proverbs ; a large propor- 
tion of the language of invective, humor, satire, and colloquial 
pleasantry, are Anglo-Saxon. While our most abstract and 



CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 133 

general terms are derived from the Latin, those which denote 
the special varieties of objects, qualities, and modes of action' 
are derived from the Anglo-Saxon. Thus, color is Latin ; hut 
white, black, green, are Anglo-Saxon. Crime is Latin ; hut 
murder, theft, robbery, to lie, are Anglo-Saxon. 

THE EXPRESSIVENESS. 

§ 102. From the last statement we can understand why the 
Saxon element is so much more expressive than the Latin part 
of the language. " Well-being arises from well-doing," is Sax- 
on. " Felicity attends virtue," is Latin. How inferior in force 
is the latter ! In the Saxon phrase, the parts or roots, being sig- 
nificant to our eyes and ears, throw the whole meaning into the 
compounds and derivatives, while the Latin words of the same 
import, having their roots and elements in a foreign language, 
carry only a cold and conventional signification to an English 
ear. " In one of my early interviews with Robert Hall," says 
his biographer, " I used the term i felicity' three or four times 
in rather quick succession. He asked me, i Why do you say 
felicity ? Happiness is a better word, more musical, and gen- 
uine English, coming from the Saxon.' ' Not more musical,' 
said I. ' Yes, more musical, and so are all words derived from 
the Saxon, generally. Listen, sir : My heart is smitten and 
withered like grass. There is plaintive music. Listen again, 
sir : Under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. There is 
cheerful music' ' Yes, but rejoice is French.' * True, but all 
the rest is Saxon ; and rejoice is almost out of time with the 
other words. Listen again : Thou hast delivered my soul from 
death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. All Sax- 
on, sir, except delivered. I could think of the word tear till I 
wept.' " 

The word Grospel, in the Anglo-Saxon, was Godspel, that is, 
Grod's speech. The Saviour they called All-heal, that is, all 
health ; the Scribes, boc-men, that is, book men ; the Judgment, 
dome-settle, the settling of doom. By dropping words like these 
for the Latin equivalents, the language has evidently lost in ex- 
pressiveness, whatever gain there may have been in other re- 
spects. Some of them might be advantageously restored. 



134 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 



ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND THE ANGLO-SAXON. 

§ 103. English Grammar is almost exclusively occupied with 
what is of Anglo-Saxon origin. The few inflections that we have 
are all Anglo-Saxon. The English genitive, the general mode 
of forming the plural of nouns, and the terminations by which 
we express the comparative and superlative of adjectives, er 
and est, the inflections of the pronouns and of the verbs, and 
the most frequent terminations of our adverbs, ly, are all Anglo- 
Saxon ; so are the auxiliary verbs. 

THE STABILITY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

§ 104. " Look at the English," says Halbertsma, " polluted 
by Danish and Norman conquests, distorted in its genuine and 
noble features by old and recent endeavors to mould it after the 
French fashion, invaded by a hostile force of Greek and Latin 
words, threatening by increasing hosts to overwhelm the indige- 
nous terms. In these long contests against the combined might 
of so many forcible enemies, the language, it is true, has lost 
some of its power of inversion in the structure of sentences, the 
means of denoting the differences of gender, and the nice dis- 
tinctions by inflection and termination ; almost every word is 
attacked by the spasm of the accent and the drawing of conso 
nants to wrong positions, yet the old English principle is not 
overpowered. Trampled down by the ignoble feet of strangers, 
its spring retains force enough to restore itself ; it lives and plays 
through all the veins of the language ; it impregnates the innu- 
merable strangers entering into its dominions, and stains them 
with its color ; not unlike the Greek, which, in taking up Ori- 
ental words, stripped them of their foreign costume, and bid 
them appear as native Greeks." — Bosworth's Diet., p. 39. 

THE ENGLISH THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. 

§ 105. The time was when the Latin was the universal lan- 
guage of the civilized world, so far as any language can be said 
to have been universal. From Rome, as a common centre, went 
forth the Christian religion in the Latin language, which was 
read and written by all learned scholars. 

More recently, the French has had a stronger claim than any 



CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 135 

other to be considered the universal language. It was more 
generally studied and spoken than any other in Europe. " Sev- 
eral foreigners," says Gibbon, "have seized the opportunity of 
speaking to Europe in the common dialect, the French; and 
Germany pleads the authority of Leibnitz and Frederick, of the 
first of her philosophers and the greatest of her kings." When 
Gribbon submitted to Hume a specimen of his intended history 
composed in French, he received a remarkable letter in reply. 
"Why," said Hume, "do you compose in French, and carry 
fagots into the wood, as Horace says in regard to Romans who 
wrote in Greek ? I grant that you have a like motive to those 
Eomans, and adopt a language much more generally diffused 
than your national tongue. But have you not remarked the fate 
of those two ancient tongues in following ages ? The Latin, 
though less celebrated, and confined to more narrow limits, has, 
in some measure, outlived the Greek, and is now more gener- 
ally understood by men of letters. Let the French, therefore, 
triumph in the present diffusion of their tongue. Our solid and 
increasing establishments in America, where we less dread the 
innovations of barbarians, promise a superior stability and du- 
ration to the English language."' — T. Watts, Lond. Phil. Soc, 
vol. ii., p. 211. 

How have the prospects of the English language brightened 
since this prophecy of Hume was written, nearly a century ago ! 
How are the evidences increasing of the final accomplishment 
of that prophecy in its becoming the universal language ! It is 
calculated that, at the close of the present century, it will be 
spoken by at least one hundred and fifty millions of human 
beings. 

It should be added, that the English is a medium language, 
and is thus adapted to diffusion. In the Gothic family, it stands 
midway between the Teutonic and the Scandinavian branches, 
touching both, and, to some extent, reaching into both. A Ger- 
man or a Dane finds much in the English which exists in his 
own language. It unites by certain bonds of consanguinity, as 
no other language does, the Romanic with the Gothic languages. 
An Italian or a Frenchman finds a large class of words in the 
English which exists in his own language, though the basis of 
the English is Gothic. Thus it is adapted to spread among the 



136 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

races that speak those languages, "both in Europe and America. 
What it has in common with these border languages, gives it 
power to replace what is peculiar to them, and thus to identify 
them with itself. 

PROSPECTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

§ 106. Having looked at the past history of the English 
language, and at its present character, we naturally inquire 
what will be its ultimate Destiny. Will it ever cease to be a 
living language, and, like Sanscrit and Greek, Latin and Anglo- 
Saxon, be studied by the scholar on the printed page, but not 
heard from the lips of the people ? Will the nations who speak 
it ever be overrun by a race of barbarians, as were the Classical 
nations of antiquity ? Will another Julius Caesar, another 
Hengist and Horsa, another Danish Canute, another Norman 
Conqueror, in turn gain possession of England, and change the 
dynasty, the laws, and the language of the land ? And, then, 
is the fate of the mother-country to be our own ? Will a band 
of irresistible warriors come from the ocean to change our insti- 
tutions, our laws, and our language ? Will our mother-tongue 
become a dead language, and be found only in books ? 

To this it may be replied, that the experience of the past is 
not to be the mould of the future. From the horoscope of the 
present a brighter destiny may be predicted. The application 
of the art of printing on the one hand, and popular education on 
the other, have so multiplied books and readers, that the language 
has become fixed not only in multitudes of standard works pub- 
blished, but also in the minds of the people who read it and 
speak it. It will not, therefore, experience any great change, like 
that of the Latin into the Italian. The Anglo-Saxon race will 
not only keep their own institutions and their own language, 
but they will impress those institutions and that language upon 
others. Besides the natural growth of population, that grasping 
spirit, that love of conquest for which they have been distin- 
guished ever since they traversed the German Ocean in their 
frail boats, pursuing plunder, will help to extend and perpetuate 
the English language. The love of religious conquest, as when 
the pious missionary goes forth under the banner of the cross ; 
the love of literary conquest, as when the schoolmaster is 



CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 13? 

abroad ; the love of commercial conquest, as shown by our 
merchants and navigators ; the love of military conquest, which 
the Anglo-Saxon race have shown all over the globe, and are 
now showing, will only extend the language. 

Even now, the British empire, extending over a population of 
one hundred and fifty-six millions in different parts of the globe, 
listens to that language as to a voice of power. The population 
of our own country, doubling every twenty-five years, amounts 
to more than twenty-five millions. 

The Celtic language in the British Isles, namely, the Gaelic in 
the Highlands of Scotland, the Erse in Ireland, the Cambrian in 
"Wales, is passing away, just as in Cornwall it has passed away. 
We may believe, too, that somewhere in the future, the French 
population of Canada, the Celts, the Spanish population of Mex- 
ico and Cuba, the Celts, will give place to the Anglo-Saxon race, 
or, rather, as in past times, be absorbed in it, and become one 
with us in blood and language. "We may believe that a like as- 
similation will take place between it and the other races which 
find a home in our country, are educated in our schools, and 
placed under the influence of our institutions. We may believe 
that, fixed in the standards of the national literature, the lan- 
guage of the Constitution will be familiar to the hundreds of 
millions in North America as their vernacular tongue ; and that 
Shakspeare and Milton will be read ages hence on the banks of 
the Connecticut and the Potomac, on the banks of the Columbia 
and the Sacramento. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER VI. 

1. What are the principal elements which enter into the composition of the 
English language ? 

2. Give Harris's statement with respect to borrowing from other langua- 
ges ; also Whewell's and Camden's. 

3. What is said of its copiousness % 

4. What is said of the number of Anglo-Saxon words in the language, and 
also of the comparative number in actual use % 

5. What is said of the kind of Anglo-Saxon words in use 1 

6. What is said of English grammar in its relation to the Anglo-Saxon part 
of our language 1 

7. What is said of the stability of the English language 1 



138 HISTORICAL ELEMENTS. 

8. What is said of the Latin — the French — the English, in respect to a 
universal language ? 

9. Can you mention what passed between Gibbon and Hume 1 

10. What reasons have you for the opinion that the English will be the 
universal language ? 

11. Describe the prospects of the English language. 



EXERCISES UNDER PART I. 

HISTORICAL ANALYSIS. 

§ 107. By Historical Analysis is meant that process by 
which each word in a sentence is referred to the particular lan- 
guage from which it was historically derived. In order to do 
this, the fourth part of this work can be consulted, and also an 
etymological dictionary. 

examples. 

1. Happiness is like the statue of Isis, whose veil no mortal 
ever raised.-— Landon. 

Statue and mortal are from the Latin ; Isis from the Greek ; 
all the other words are from the Anglo-Saxon. 

2. High on a throne of royal state, which far 
Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Ind, 

Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, 
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, 
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised 
To that bad eminence. — Milton. 

State, exalted, eminence, and merit, are from the Latin ; 
throne, richest, and royal, from the Norman-French ; barbaric, 
Ormus, and Ind, from the Greek ; Satan, from the Hebrew ; 
the remainder from the Anglo-Saxon. 

3. From what languages do the following groups of words 
come? 

a. Cromlech, bard, pibroch, clan, bran, mop, button ? 

b. Province, funeral, liberty, college, firmament, ruminate ? 

c. Hand, thousand, full, wealth, hills, valleys ? 

d. Whitby, tarn, Codale, Milthorp, hose? 

c. Conquest, castle, venison, pork, feasts, beauty, mountains ? 
f. Idol, episcopacy, diamond, magic, melody, monarch ? 



CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 139 

g. Ennui, savant, cart e-blanche, fapade, eclat, depot? 

h. Cortes, embargo, Don ? i. Adagio, allegro, macaroni ? 

j. Czar, ukase ? k. Pagoda, bazar ? I. Amber, camphor ? 

m. Shaster, Veda ? n. Chop, hong ? o. Gnu, koba ? 

p. Bamboo, gong? q. Tattoo, tabu? r. Cariboo, racoon? 

Analyze the following sentences : 

4. He is well versed in the principles or rudiments of the lan- 
guage, and is principally indebted for this to his erudite pre- 
ceptor. 

5. I was yesterday, about sunset, walking in the open fields 
till the night fell insensibly upon me. I at first amused myself 
with all the richness and variety of colors which appeared in 
the western parts of the heavens. — Addison. 

6. The beauties of her person and graces of her air combined 
to make her the most amiable of women, and the charms of her 
address and conversation aided the impression which her lovely 
figure made on the hearts of all beholders. — Hume. 

7. In the second century of the Christian era, the empire of 
Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth and the most 
civilized portion of mankind. — Gibbon. 

synthesis. 

1. Compose a sentence consisting of words derived from the 
Anglo-Saxon. 

2. Compose a sentence consisting of words derived from the 
Anglo-Norman words. 

3. Compose a sentence in which there shall be at least one 
word derived from the Celtic. 

4. Compose a sentence in which there shall be at least one 
word derived from the Danish. 

5. Compose a sentence in which there shall be at least one 
word derived from the Spanish ; and another in which there 
shall be at least one word derived from the Italian ; and another 
in which there shall be at least one word derived from the Chi- 
nese ; and so on of the other languages. 

Having exhibited the Historical Elements in this First Part, 
we are prepared, in the Second Part, to enter into the interior 
of the language^ and to learn of what matter it is composed. 



PART II. 

PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 



DEFINITIONS. 

§ 108. Phonology, from the Greek Qovfj, sound, and /Idyoc, 
account, is, in the widest sense, the doctrine or science of 
sounds. In a limited and proper sense, it is the doctrine or sci- 
ence of the sounds uttered by the human voice in speech. The 
phonology of the English language, then, is the doctrine of the 
sounds in the spoken language. 

The Phonetic Elements of the English language are those 
elementary sounds in the spoken language which it is the prov- 
ince of phonology to exhibit, both separately and in combination. 

These elements are the matter, or the raw material of the lan- 
guage, from which its numerous and expressive combinations are 
formed. Every word in the language is composed of some of these 
elements. They should be constantly considered as coming from 
the producing tongue into the receiving ear, and not be confounded 
with the letters, their symbols, on the printed page. They are, in 
the present work, treated in relation to the correct articulation and 
enunciation of individual words. To eloquence and to music they 
have a separate relationship, which it is the office of the elocution- 
ist and the music-master to unfold. 

ORG -AJS S OF PRODUCTION. 

§ 109. The sounds which constitute language are formed by 
air issuing from the lungs, modified in its passage through the 
throat and mouth by the organs of speech, at the will of the 
speaker. 

The tones of the human voice are produced by two membranes 
called the vocal ligaments. These are set in motion by a stream of 



142 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

air gushing from the lungs. The windpipe is contracted near the 
mouth by a projecting mass of muscles called the glottis. The edges 
of the glottis are membranes, and form the vocal ligaments. Ordina- 
rily, these membranous edges are inclined from each other, and, con- 
sequently, no vibrations take place during the passage of the breath ; 
but, by the aid of certain muscles, we can place them parallel to each 
other, when they immediately vibrate and produce a tone. With 
the aid of other muscles we can increase their tension, and there- 
by the sharpness of the tone ; and by driving the air more forcibly 
from the lungs, we may increase its loudness. The tone thus formed 
is modified by the cavities of the throat, nose, and mouth. These 
modifications form the first elements of articulate language. They 
are produced, not by the lungs or the windpipe, but by the glottis, the 
palate, the tongue, the teeth, the lips, which are called the Organs 
of Speech. As the tongue is the principal organ in changing the 
cavities which modify the tone, it has given its name to speech, both 
in the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin, and many other languages. 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

§ 110. In the spoken language, the phonetic elements are di- 
vided into two classes : I. Vocalic or Yowel Sounds, II. Con- 
sonantal or Consonant Sounds. 

VOCALIC OR VOWEL SOUNDS. 

§ 111. Yocalic Sounds are those which can be formed with- 
out bringing any parts of the mouth into contact to interrupt 
the stream of air from the lungs. 

Thus the sound of a or o can be pronounced with the mouth 
partially open, and the breath in one continuous current. The 
word votvel is from the Latin word vocalis, vocal, through the 
French voyelle. It means what can be sounded or form voice 
by itself. Some ambiguity is connected with the use of the 
word, inasmuch as it not only denotes a sound, but also the let- 
ter which represents the sound. In this chapter it is used to de- 
note the sound, and not the letter. 

It has been found that the note of a common organ may take the 
qualities of all the vowel sounds in succession. This is effected 
merely by lengthening the tube which confines the vibrations. It 
would seem, therefore, that the peculiar character of the different 
vowel sounds depends on the length of the cavity which modifies 
the voice. In pronouncing the a in father, the cavity seems barely, 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 143 

if at all, extended beyond the throat ; in pronouncing the a in all, it 
reaches to the root of the tongue ; and to the middle of the palate in 
pronouncing the long e in eat ; the sound of the long in oat requires 
the cavity to be extended to the lips, which must be stretched out to 
form a cavity long enough to pronounce the u in jute. See Guest's 
English Rhythms. 

CONSONANTAL OR CONSONANT SOUNDS. 

§ 112. Consonantal Sounds are those which can not be 
formed without bringing the parts of the mouth into contact. 

Thus the sound indicated by the letter p can not be pro- 
duced without bringing the lips into contact. So the sound in- 
dicated by / can not be pronounced without bringing the tongue 
and the roof of the mouth near the teeth into contact. 

Though the consonantal sounds can be isolated, that is, sep- 
arated from the vocalic, yet in practice they are joined to vocalic 
sounds and pronounced with them. For this reason, this class of 
sounds can be properly called consonants, from the Latin words 
con, with, sonans, sounding. 

The particular consonantal sound that is produced by inter- 
rupting the stream of air which flows out in the production of a 
vowel sound, depends upon what parts of the mouth are brought 
into contact. 

ARTICULATE sounds. 
§ 113. An Articulate Sound, from articulus, a Latin word for 
joint, is properly one which is preceded or followed by the closing 
of the organs of speech, or bringing some parts of the mouth in 
contact. A consonant is, in the strict sense, an articulation, or 
an articulate sound ; but, in use, the term is frequently extended 
to vowel sounds. Yowel sounds are produced by the lower organs 
of speech, and consonantal sounds by the upper. Brute animals 
utter vowel sounds ; man only can utter consonantal sounds. 

ANALYSIS OF SYLLABIC SOUNDS. 

§ 114. In the analytical examination of words and syllables for the 
purpose of discovering the elementary sounds of which they are 
composed, we must withdraw our attention from the letters, and fix 
it upon the sounds themselves. In the common pronunciation of 
words and syllables, the consonantal sound is not uttered without 



144 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

the vowel sound with which it is connected. But in our analytical 
examination, we can utter it or partly utter it without the vowel. 
We can in this way separate an elementary consonantal sound from 
its associated vowel sound, so far, at least, as to discover its nature. 
Thus, in analyzing the sounds in the combinations indicated by ra t 
lo, do, po, we can isolate the sounds indicated by r, I, d, p, and pro- 
nounce them as if written r-o, l-o, d-o,p-o. In the case of d there 
is an imperfect sound, in which there is a slight vocality. In the 
case of p there is but little more than an effort at a sound. 

SURDS AND SONANTS. 

§ 115. If the vocal ligaments be so inclined to each other as 
not to vibrate, the emission of breath from the lungs produces 
merely a whisper. This whisper may be modified in like 
manner as the voice by similar arrangements of the organs. 
Every vocal sound has its correspondent whisper sound. 

If you take the sounds of p, f, t, k, s, th in thin, sh in shine, 
and isolate them from their vowels, and pronounce them, the 
sound is that of a whisper. 

If you treat the sounds of b, v, d, g, z, th in thine, z in 
azure, in the same way, the sound is no whisper, but one at the 
natural tone of the voice. The first class are called Surds, the 
second class Sonants. Instead of these, the terms sharp and 
flat have been used, or aspirate and vocal, and are their equiv- 
alents. 

continuous and explosive sounds. 

§ 116. A part of the consonant sounds are continuous, and a 
part are explosive. If you isolate the sounds of p, b, t, d, k, 
and g surd, you have no power to prolong the sounds or of rest- 
ing on them. They escape with the breath at once. It is not 
so with the sounds of/, v, sh, z, zh, s, I, m, n, r, ng. Here the 
breath is transmitted by degrees, and the sounds can be pro- 
longed. The first class are explosive, the second continuous. 
See Latham's English Language, and Introduction fo Walk- 
er's Dictionary. 



§ 117. I. Tonic Sounds. A-W, a-xt, a-n, a-le, ou-x, j-sle, o-ld, ec-l, 
oo-ze, e-xx, e-nd, i'-n. These twelve tonic sounds have a vocality, as 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 145 

distinguished from a whisper or aspiration, and admit of indefinite 
prolongation. 

II. Subtonic Sounds. jB-ow, d-are, ^-ive, si-ng, l-ove, m-ay, 
n-ot, r-oe, have unmixed vocality ; t;-ile, ^-one, y-e, w-o, th-en, 
a-2--ure, have aspiration. Some of the subtonic vocalities are nasal ; 
as, m, n, ng, b, d, g. 

III. Atonic Sounds. V-p, ou-t, ar-£, i-f, yes, h-e, wA-eat, th-in, 
pu-sA. These nine have no vocality, but only a whisper or aspira- 
tion. In this classification of the elementary articulate sounds, we 
have twelve tonic, fourteen subtonic, and nine atonic sounds ; in all, 
thirty -five. 

Seven of the tonic elements are Diphthongs : c-11, a-rt, a-n, a-le, 
{-sle, 0-ld, ou-x. The remaining five are Monothongs, having one 
unaltered sound : ee-1, oo-ze, c-rr, e-nd, z-n. 

This classification, though distinguished by great analytical 
ingenuity and talent, is not so well adapted to the purpose of this 
work as the one adopted. 

§ 118. TABLE OF THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN THE 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

VOWEL SOUNDS. 

1. That of a in father. 7. That of i in Jit. 

2. " a " fat. 

3. " a " fate. 

4. " a " fall. 

5. " e " mete. 

6. " e " met. 

VOWEL OR CONSONANT SOUNDS. 

13. That of w in wet. 14. That of y in yet. 

CONSONANT SOUNDS. 

15. That of h in hot, an aspirate or simple breathing. 

16. " ng " king, a nasal consonant sound. 

17. " m " man, a liquid nasal consonant sound. 

18. " n " not, 

19. " / " let, a liquid consonant sound. 

20. " r " run 

COGNATE CONSONANT SOUNDS. 

21. That of p in pat,) surd. 25. That of th in thin, > surd. 
bat, $ sonant. 26. " th " thine, $ sonant. 
fan, > surd. 27. " t " tin, ) surd. 
van, y sonant. 28 " d " din, 5 sonant. 

K 



8. 


u 


" note. 


9. 


a 


" no*. 


10. 


a 


m " bull. 


11. 


a 


00 " j»oo/. 


12. 


a 


tt " 6u£. 



22. 


u 


6 


23. 


ic 


/ 


24. 


<; 


V 



146 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 



29. 


That of k in kin, ) surd. 
" S " S un -> > sonant. 


30. 


31. 


" s " sin, ) surd. 
" z " ^ee?, ) sonant. 


32. 



33. That of sh in shine, > surd. 

34. " z " a^ure, 5 sonant 



COMPOUND VOWEL SOUNDS. 

35. That of i in fine. 37. That of ou in house. 

36. " M " ?We. 38. " oi " u<nce. 

COMPOUND CONSONANT SOUNDS. 

39. That of ch in chest, surd. 40. That of j?' in jest, sonant. 

EXPLANATION OF THE TABLE OF PHONETIC ELE- 
MENTS. 

§ 119. 1. The first, trie sound of a in father } called the Italian or 
ancient sound; the second, the sound of a in fat, called the short or 
French sound ; the third, the sound of a in fate, called the long or 
English sound ; the fourth, the sound of a in fall, called the German 
sound, are varieties of one and the same original sound. Of the last 
there is a shortened variety, as in what. The fourth is allied to the 
eighth and ninth. 

2. The fifth, the sound of e in mete, though considered as the long 
sound of the sixth, is strictly the long sound oft in. Jit, the seventh. 

3. The sixth, the sound of e in met, is strictly the short sound of 
a in pate, and not of e in mete, as sometimes stated. 

4. The seventh, the sound of i in fit, though often considered as 
allied to i in fine, is, in the opinion of good writers, a shortened va- 
riety of the sound of e in mete. 

5. The eighth, the sound of o in note, bears the same relation to 
the ninth, that of o in not, as that of a in fate to that of a in fat. 

6. The tenth, the sound of u in bull, is closely allied to the elev- 
enth, the sound of oo in pool. They are both varieties of the same 
sound, pronounced rapidly in the one case, and slowly in the other. 
The two sounds bear the same relation to each other as the sound 
of a in fate to the sound of a in fat, and of ee in feet to i in fit. 

7. The twelfth, the sound of u in but, is regarded as the short 
sound of u, the long sound being, in this table, put down as diph- 
thongal. 

8. The thirteenth, the sound of w in wet, is allied to the sound of 
oo in cool. Some writers consider it as identical, and assert that the 
words will, oo-ill, are sounded alike. It is, however, convenient to 
consider the w, as in will, as a separate and independent sound. It 
is sometimes vocalic and sometimes consonantal. 

9. The fourteenth, the sound of y in yet, is allied to the sound of 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 147 

e in mete. Some writers consider it as identical, and assert that the 
words yet and ee-et are sounded alike. It is, however, convenient 
to consider the y, as in yet, as a separate, independent sound. It is 
sometimes vocalic and sometimes consonantal. 

10. The fifteenth, the sound of h in hot, is by some grammarians 
classed with the vowel sounds, and by others with the consonant 
sounds. It is simply a breathing. ~ 

1 1 . The sixteenth, the sound of ng in king, is a simple elementa- 
ry sound, expressed, not by a single elementary sign or letter, but 
by two letters, or a combination. The sound of ng in king is allied 
to the sounds of n and g. It differs, however, from the sounds of 
both of these letters, either single or taken together. The sixteenth, 
seventeenth, and eighteenth are called nasals, from the organ con- 
cerned in their production. 

12. The nineteenth, the sound of I in let, and the twentieth, the 
sound of r in run, are, in some languages, convertible into each other, 
See § 167. 

13. The twenty-first, that of p in pat, and twenty-third, that of 
fin fan, are in some languages convertible. So are the twenty-sec- 
ond, that of b in bat, and the twenty-fourth, that of v in van. See § 127. 

14. The twenty-fifth, the sound of th in thin, is a simple element- 
ary sound, and, as such, should be expressed by a single letter. In- 
stead of this, it is expressed by two letters, or by a combination, so 
that, although a simple sound to the ear, it has the appearance of 
being a compound one to the eye. 

15. The twenty-sixth, the sound of th in thine, like the sound last 
mentioned, is a simple sound, expressed, not by a single elementary 
sign or letter, but by two letters ; but, though different from the sound 
last mentioned, it is expressed in the spelling in precisely the same 
way. The th in thin is allied to the sound of t, as in tin. The th in 
thine is allied to the sound of d, as in dine. 

16. The thirty -first, that of s in sin, the thirty-second, that of z in 
zed, the thirty-third, that of sh in shine, thirty-fourth, that of z in 
azure, are called sibilants, from the property of hissing. 

17. The thirty-third, the sound of sh, as in shine, is in the same 
predicament as sounds 25, 26. It is a simple elementary sound, ex- 
pressed, not by a single elementary sign or letter, but by two letters 
in combination. The real sound of h, preceded by s, is very different 
from that of sh in shine ; and the real sound of sh in shine is very dif- 
ferent from that of h preceded by s. 

18. The thirty fourth, the sound of z in azure, though without a 
corresponding sign or letter, is simple and elementary. The sound 



148 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

of z in azure and that of s in pleasure are identical. It might proper- 
ly be expressed by zh, or a new character. This sound is related to 
sh in shine, as th in then is related to th in thin. 

From the first to the twelfth, inclusive, the sounds are represented 
by the characters a, e, i, o, u. Those represented by a, o, and u are 
called broad or strong voAvels ; those represented by e and t are 
called small or weak vowels. 

COGNATE CONSONANT ELEMENTS. 

§ 120. From the twenty-first to the thirty-fourth inclusive, 
the consonant sounds allied in pronunciation, or cognate, are ar- 
ranged in pairs. In each pair, the sound of the even number 
has vocality, being produced by the voice, and the sound of the 
odd number has only an aspiration, or a whisper, being produced 
by the breath. Thus, if the sound of p in the first pair be iso- 
lated from its vowel, it will be only that of a whisper ; but if the 
allied sound of b be uttered, it will be not a whisper, but the 
natural tone of the voice. 

As already mentioned, the sounds in the series p are indicated 
by the terms surd, aspirate, or sharp ; and the sounds in the 
series b are indicated by the terms sonant, vocal, ox flat. 

The Tahitians confound the cognate elements represented by 
d and t, and also those represented by b and p. 

THE SUMMATION OF SURD AND SONANT ELEMENTS. 

§ 121. The Vowel sounds, the Nasal sounds, and the Liquid 
sounds, are sonant ; one half of the remaining sounds are so- 
nant, and the other half and the sound of the letter h are surd. 
See § 118. 

THE SUMMATION OF EXPLOSIVE AND CONTINUOUS 
ELEMENTS. 

§ 122. The Vowel sounds, the Nasal sounds, the Liquid 
sounds, the sounds of/, v, s, sh, z, zh, of th in thin, of th in 
thine, are continuous. The sounds of b, oip, t, d, k, g, and h, 
are explosive. 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 149 



THE ORGANIC PRODUCTION OP THE PHONETIC ELE- 
MENTS. 

§ 123. 1. The first, that of a in father, closes the mouth a little 
more than the fourth (see below), and, raising the lower jaw, widen- 
ing the tongue, and advancing it a little nearer to the lips, its sound 
is less hollow and deep. The second, that of a in fat, being depend- 
ent, can not be easily exhibited in its organic production. For the 
meaning of the word dependent, see § 156. The third, that of a 
in fate, is formed higher in the mouth than the first, while the 
tongue widens itself to the cheeks, and raises itself, and thus a less 
hollow sound is produced than either of the other two. The fourth, 
that of a in fall, is produced by forcibly driving out the breath, modi- 
fied in its passage by the tongue's contracting itself to the root, the 
mouth being open in nearly a circular form. 

2. The fifth, that of e in mete, is organically produced by dilating 
the tongue a little more than in the case of the third, and advanc- 
ing it nearer to the palate and the lips. In the formation of this 
sound, the tongue is as near to the palate as possible without 
touching it. 

3. The sixth, that of e in met, is dependent, and can not easily be 
exhibited in its organic production. The seventh, that of i in fit, is 
also dependent. 

4. The eighth, that of in note, is formed by nearly the same po- 
sition of the organ as that of a in fall. But the tongue is a little 
more advanced into the middle of the mouth, the lips are protruded, 
and form a round aperture like that of the letter, and the voice is 
not so deep in the mouth as when the fourth sound of a is pro- 
duced, but advances into the hollow of the mouth. The ninth, that 
of in not is dependent. 

5. The tenth, that of u in hull, and the eleventh, that of 00 in pool, 
resemble each other in 'their organic formation, the tenth being 
formed lower in the mouth than the eleventh. The eleventh is 
formed by protruding the lips a little more than o in note, forming 
a smaller opening, and instead of swelling the voice in the middle 
of the mouth, bringing it as far forward as possible to the lips. 
The twelfth, that of u in but, is dependent, and can not easily be 
exhibited in its organic production. 

6. The thirteenth, that of w in wet, is formed much like the elev- 
enth. The fourteenth, that of y in yet, is formed much like the 
fifth. The fifteenth, h, is simply a breathing. 

7. The sixteenth, that of ng in king, is formed like that of the 



150 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

twenty -ninth, with this difference, that in the case of the sixteenth 
the voice passes mostly through the nose. 

8. The seventeenth, that of m in man, is formed by closing the lips 
till the breath is collected, and letting the voice issue by the nose. 

9. The eighteenth, that of n in not, is formed by pressing the tip 
of the tongue to the gums of the upper teeth, and breathing through 
the nose with the mouth open. 

10. The nineteenth, that of I in let, is formed by placing the or- 
gans in nearly the same position as in the case of the eighteenth, 
but the tip of the tongue is drawn a little more forward to the teeth, 
while the breath issues from the mouth. 

11. The twentieth, that of r in run, is formed by placing the 
tongue at such a distance from the palate as to suffer it to jar against 
it, the breath being propelled from the throat to the mouth. 

12. The twenty-first, that of p in pate, and the twenty-second, 
that of b in bat, are each of them formed by closing the lips until 
the breath is collected, with this difference, that in the case of the 
latter the lower organs of the mouth are brought into action, so that 
the natural tone of the voice is produced, and not merely a whisper, 
as in the case of the twenty-first. 

13. The twenty-third, that off in fan, and the twenty-fourth, that 
of v in van, are each of them formed by pressing the upper teeth 
upon the under lip, with this difference, that the lower or vocal or- 
gans of the mouth are brought into action in the case of the latter. 

14. The twenty-fifth, that of ih in thin, and the twenty-sixth, that 
of ih in thine, are each of them formed by protruding the tongue and 
pressing it against the upper teeth, with this difference, that in the 
case of the latter the vocal or lower organs are brought into play. 

15. The twenty-seventh, that of t in tin, and the twenty-eighth, 
that of i in din, are each of them formed by pressing the tip of the 
tongue to the gums of the upper teeth as the breath issues from the 
mouth, with this difference, that in the case of the latter the lower 
organs of the mouth are brought into action. 

16. The twenty-ninth, that of k in kin, and the thirtieth, that of 
g in gun, are each of them formed by pressing the middle of the 
tongue to the roof of the mouth, near the throat, at the moment of 
their formation, with this difference, that in the case of the latter the 
lower organs are brought into action in order to produce vocality in 
the sound. 

17. The thirty-first, that of s in sir, and the thirty-second, that of 
z in zed, are each of them formed by placing the tongue in the same 
position as in the case of t and d, but not so close to the gums. A 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 151 

space is thus left between the tongue and the palate and gums for the 
breath to issue from between the teeth and produce a hissing sound, 
which, in the case of the latter, has vocality, from the use of the 
lower organs of the mouth. 

18. The thirty-third, that of sh in shine, and thirty -fourth, that of 
z in azure, are each of them formed in the same manner as that of 
s and z, though in the case of the two former the tongue is rather 
farther off from the palate and the gums, so that there is more room 
for the passage of the breath. In the case of the z in azure, the 
sound is formed by the lower organs of the mouth, and has vocality. 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE ELEMENTARY CONSONANT- 
AL SOUNDS ACCORDING TO THEIR ORGANIC FORM- 
ATION. 

§ 124. I. Labials, that of p, b,f v. II. Dentals, that of t, d, s, z, 
th, sh, that of z in azure, III. Gutturals, that of k, g, I, r. These 
are also called palatals. IV. Nasals, m, n, ng. The labial sound 
of b, the dental of d, the guttural of g, have a nasal quality. The 
sounds indicated by t, th, d, and n, have also been called cerebrals, 
as they seem to proceed from the head. The sound of m is labial 

COMPOUND SOUNDS. 

§ 125. I. Compound Sounds, formed by means of two vowel 
sounds, are called Diphthongs ; as that of ou in house, oi in 
voice, u in muse, i in pme. 

1 . The nature of the compound ou is disguised by the spelling. 
It consists of the sounds of a in father, and of 00, or of the w in will, 
rapidly pronounced. 

2. The sound of the compound oi is the sound of modified, plus 
the sound of y modified. 

3. The sound of u in muse, and of ew in new, is that of i in pit and 
of 00, or of w in will. 

4. The sound of i in pine, like that of u in muse, is disguised by 
the spelling. As it is represented by means of the letter i, the er- 
roneous notion prevails of its being a simple single elementary 
sound ; and also of its being the sound of i in pit, lengthened in the 
pronunciation. The real elements of the sound in question are gen- 
erally considered to be the a in fat and the y in yet, rapidly pro- 
nounced. The word diphthong is from the Greek dig, double, and 
(pdoyyog, a voice. It is immediately related to the spoken language, 
not the written. 



152 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

Some of the vowel sounds do not readily combine, as those of e 
and a in beat. Only one of the elements is sounded. When two 
vowel letters are thus brought together in a written word, and the 
sounds which they represent will not coalesce, they are called a Di- 
graph. 

II. Compound Sounds formed by means of three vowel sounds 
are called Triphthongs ; as in buoy. 

"When three vowel letters are brought together in a syllable, 
and the sounds which they represent will not coalesce, they are 
called a Trigraph. 

III. Compound Consonant Sounds are represented by ch in 
chesty and hy j in. jest. Ch is ~t-\-sh; j is= d+zh. These 
are compound Sibilants, that of ch being surd, and that of j be- 
ing sonant. 

The analysis of the sounds in the English language presented in 
the preceding statements are sufficiently exact for the purpose in 
hand. Those who wish to pursue it further can consult Dr. Rush's 
admirable work, " The Philosophy of the Human Voice." Upon the 
same grounds upon which orthoepists consider i in fine and u in 
rude as diphthongal, he contends that several of the vowels are 
diphthongal ; as, for instance, that a in ale, which, upon being pro- 
longed, he asserts, resolves itself into the two sounds of a and e. 

RELATIONSHIP of certain consonantal sounds, 

§ 126. 1. Let the sign fi represent the single simple sound of th 
in thin. And, 2. Let the sign # represent the single simple sound 
of th in thine. And, 3. Let the sign o (Greek 2iy[ia) represent the 
simple single sound of sh in shine. And, 4. Let the sign £ (Greek 
Zrjra) represent the simple single sound of z in azure (French^). 
And, 5. Let the simple sign k (Greek Kanna) and the sign y (Greek 
Tdfifia) represent two peculiar sounds in the Laplandic, and pos- 
sibly in some other languages, different from any in English, Ger- 
man, French. Then we have the following relationship ; 





Surd. 




Sonant 






Surd 




Sonan*- 


As 


P 


is to 


h 


so 


is 


t 


to 


d. 


As 


t 


is to 


d, 


so 


is 


k 


to 


s- 


As 


Ji 


is to 


& 


so 


is 


S 


to 


z. 


As 


S 


is to 


~t 


so 


is 


f 


to 


V. 


As 


f 


is to 


t>, 


so 


is 


P 


to 


«. 


As 


P 


is to 


*, 


so 


is 


K 


to 


7- 


As 


K 


is to 


7, 


so 


is 


a 


to 


£ 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 153 



LENE AND ASPIRATE. 

§ 127. Of the sounds just enumerated, p, b, t, d, k, g, s, z, are 
called Lene ; /, v, fi, $, fc, y, a, £, are called Aspirate. These terms 
are used by grammarians ; but the term aspirate is thus used in a 
different sense from what it is when contrasted with the term vocal. 
P belonging to the first series, and /belonging to the second series, 
are both surd. P, indeed, is explosive, and f is continuous. But s, 
however, is continuous, and s, in respect to the difference under con- 
sideration, is classed, not with f the continuous sound, but with p, 
the explosive one. We have then, also, the following relationship : 



As 


V 


is to 


/. 


so is 


I 


to 


V. 


As 


b 


is to 


v, 


so is 


t 


to 


A 


As 


t 


is to 


P, 


so is 


d 


to 


3. 


As 


d 


is to 


*, 


so is 


k 


to 


K. 


As 


k 


is to 


K, 


so is 


g 


to 


y> 


As 


g 


is to 


7> 


so is 


s 


to 


a. 


As 


s 


is to 


ff» 


so is 


z 


to 


c. 



On the last two sections, see Professor Latham's work on the 
English language. 

comparative phonology. 

PHONETIC ELEMENTS NOT IN THE LANGUAGE. 

§ 128. There are certain phonetic elements in other languages 
which are not found in the English. 

1. Thus the sound of e ferme [close) of the French, which is 
intermediate to that of a in fate and of e in mete, is not found 
in English. Its opposite is ouvert (open), as in that of a in fate. 

2. The u of the French, u or y of the Danes, represents a sound 
intermediate to that of e in mete and 00 in book ; long, as in the 
French word flute ; short, as in fut. The nasal un represents 
a sound not in English. 

3. O chiuso, of the Italians, is intermediate to the o in note 
and the 00 in book. The meaning of chiuso is close, in opposi- 
tion to the open (aperto) sound of 0, as in note. This sound is 
not in the English. 

4. The Sanscrit has a vowel r. The short r is pronounced 
like the consonant r, with a scarcely distinguishable z, and in 
European texts is usually ri ; the long r is scarcely to be dis- 
tinguished from the union of r with a long i. 

5. The Sanscrit has another vowel, which is the union of an 



X54 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

/ with r, or a lengthened r. In the Slavonic language, I and r 
are considered as vowels. 

6. Ch in G-erman, gh in Irish, iv in Welsh, represent sounds 
not found in the English language. The foregoing are only 
specimens. 

PHONETIC ELEMENTS NOT IN SOME OTHER LAN- 
GUAGES. 

§ 129. On the other hand, the English has phonetic elements 
not found in some other languages. .Thus, that of th, as in 
thine, and th, as in thin, are not found in the French and the 
G-erman ; and those of /, v, and of sh, are not found in the Ja- 
vanese. The sound of / is wanting in the Zend, and that of r 
is not in the Chinese. These are only specimens. 

PECULIARITY OF THE MAGYAR LANGUAGE. 

§ 130. The Magyar language resolves the vowels into two class- 
es, a, o, u, masculine ; and e, i, b, it, feminine. A masculine 
vowel and a feminine vowel are not allowed to meet in one word, 
not even in a compound term ; for if the last syllable of a word 
have a masculine vowel, the affix must be made to agree with it 
accordingly. — Bowering's Poetry of the Magyars. 

DIFFERENCE OF QUALITY IN THE SAME ELEMENT. 

§ 131. The same elementary sound, as exhibited by two in- 
dividuals belonging to different nations, may differ from itself in 
quality, just as the same musical note differs from itself when 
produced by a flute and a violin. Both the identity and the di- 
versity are perceived at once. This diversity, if it does not pro- 
ceed from a difference of physiological structure, such as obtains 
between the different races of men, is to be accounted for by the 
early training of the organs, which in time become rigid, and 
lose the imitative power for fixed habits. 

" May I not lay it down as a very probable position, that there 
is no man on earth who has ears to discriminate, and vocal 
organs to execute, all the varieties of sound that exist in hu- 
man language ? And if there were such a man, he could not 
make himself understood but by those equally gifted with him- 
self, and only by word of mouth. For how could he convey to the 



SEPARATE PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 155 

mental ear, by means of written signs, sounds which the natu- 
ral ear never heard before ?" — Duponceau, Transactions of the 
American Philosophical Society, vol. L, p. 23. 

Having, in this chapter, examined the phonetic elements in 
their separate existence, we are prepared, in the next chapter, to 
examine them in their combinations with one another. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER I. 

1. What is the definition of the term Phonology in general, and in its appli- 
cation to the English language ? 

2. What are the phonetic elements of the English language 1 

3. How are the sounds which constitute language formed, and by what or- 
gans 1 

4. Which is the principal organ of speech, and to what has its name been 
applied 1 

5. Into what two classes are the phonetic elements divided? 

6. Give the distinctive characteristics of vocalic sounds. 

7. Upon what does the peculiar character of the different vowel sounds 
depend ? 

8. Give the distinctive characteristic of consonantal sounds, and state why 
they are so called. 

9. To what class of sounds is the word articulate strictly applicable, and 
to what sounds is it also in use applied. 

10. Describe the proper mode of analyzing the sounds of which words and 
syllables are composed, and give examples of this mode. 

11. Explain the meaning of the terms Surd and Sonant, and mention 
sounds to which they are severally applied. 

12. Explain the meaning of the terms Continuous and Explosive, and 
mention the sounds to which they are usually applied. 

13. Give the headings of each division in the table. 

14. Give the phonetic elements under each heading. 

15. Give the summation of the surd and sonant elements. 

16. Give the summation of the explosive amd continuous elements. 

17. Give the classification of the elementary consonant sounds according 
to their organic production. 

18. Give the three classes of compound sounds. 

19. Enumerate certain phonetic elements which are not in the English 
language. 

20. Enumerate certain phonetic elements found in the English, but not 
found in some other languages. 

21. Explain what is meant by difference of quality in the same element. 

22. State the opinion of Duponceau in respect to varieties of sound. 



156 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN COMBINATION. 



PRONOUNCEABLE COMBINATIONS. 

§ 132. 1. The Vowel elements in combination with one an- 
other, whether they coalesce, as in diphthongs, or continue sep- 
arate, are easily pronounced, as oi in voice, ia in Indian. 

2. The Yowel elements, in combination with the consonantal 
elements, either simple or compound, are easily pronounced, as 
Atlas, Chester. 

3. The Consonantal elements, in combination with one an- 
other, are some of them pronounced easily, some with difficulty, 
while some of them can not be pronounced at all. Thus the 
sound of r blends easily in the pronunciation with any other 
consonantal element which precedes it, as in bra, tra. But the 
sound of t does not easily blend with that of c in the word facts, 
but requires an effort of the organs. And the sound of d can 
not be made to blend with that of p in the combination apd. 
See § 134. 

UNPRONOUNCEABLE COMBINATIONS. 

§ 133. Two consonantal elements, the one marked surd in 
the table, the other sonant, can not be pronounced in the same 
syllable. See Table of Elementary Sounds, § 118. 

Thus, if you attempt to pronounce the combination sofd, in 
which there is a surd and a sonant, you will find it impossible. 
The same will be true of any like combination. The organs 
are thrown into a condition by pronouncing the one element 
which will not allow them immediately to pronounce the other. 

A CHANGE OP ELEMENTS IN PRONUNCIATION. 

§ 134. In attempting to pronounce, in one syllable, a surd 
and a sonant, either the surd will become a sonant, or the so- 
nant will become a surd. Thus, in the pronunciation of sofd, 



THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN COMBINATION. 157 

the sound of/ will become that of v, or the sound of d will be- 
come that of t, and the word will become either sovd or soft . 
In the same manner, the combination indicated by the letters 
sobs must be pronounced as if spelled either sobz or sops. So 
in the following list : 

avt becomes either aft or avd. 



abth " 


C( 


apth " abdh. 




agt " 


u 


akt " «g-d. 




ags " 


u 


a£s " a^. 




apd " 


a 


cp£ " abd. 




asd " 


u 


ast " a^c?. 




ashd " 


a 


asA£ " azhd. 




asg " 


a 


ask " «;?£-. 




MPORTANCE OF 


THE FACT JUST 


STATED. 



THE 

§ 135. " There is no fact that requires to be more familiarly known 
than this. There are at least three formations in the English lan- 
guage where its influence is most important. These are, (a) the 
possessive forms in -s; (b) the plurals in -s ; (c) the preterits in ~d 
and -t. 

Neither are there many facts in language more disguised than 
this is in English. The s in the word stags is sharp ; the g in the 
word stags is flat. Notwithstanding this, the combination ags ex- 
ists. It exists, however, in the spelling only. In speaking, the s 
is sounded as z, and the word stags is pronounced stagz. Again, in 
words like tossed, plucked, looked, the e is omitted in pronunciation. 
Hence the words become toss'd, plucked, looked; that is, the flat d 
comes in contact with the sharp k and s. Now the combination 
exists in the spelling only, since the preterits of pluck, look, and toss 
are, in speech, pronounced pluckt, lookt, tosst. 

The reason for the difference between the spelling and the pro- 
nunciation is as follows : For the possessive case singular, for the 
nominative plural, and for the preterit tense of verbs, the forms in 
Anglo-Saxon were fuller than they are in the present English. The 
possessive singular ended not in -s only, but in -es, and the nomina- 
tive plural in -as. Similarly, the preterit of the verbs ended either 
in -od or -ed, not -d only ; e. g., wordes=.o{ a word (word's), flodes =2 
of a flood (flood's), landes—of a land (land's), thinges=:of a thing (or 
thing's), endas= end's, and so on throughout the language. In this 
case, the vowel separated the two consonants, and kept them from 
coming together. As long as this vowel kept its place, the conso- 
nants remained unchanged, their different degrees of sharpness and 



158 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

flatness being a matter of indifference. When the vowel, however, 
was dropped, the consonants came in contact. This reduced a 
change on one side or the other to a matter of necessity. Liquid 
and vowel sounds, though vocal or flat, will combine with aspirated 
or sharp consonant sounds. If this were not the case, the combina- 
tions ap, at, alp, art, would be unpronounceable. The law exhibited 
above may be called the Law of Accommodation. Combinations 
like bt, kd, &c, may be called Incompatible Combinations." — Pro- 
fessor Latham's English Grammar, p. 29. 

THE ACCUMULATION OF CONSONANTAL ELEMENTS. 

§ 136. Combinations are also unpronounceable from the ac- 
cumulation of consonantal elements. This is evident from the 
nature of these elements. It is only saying that there is a lim- 
itation to the number of consonantal elements which can be 
brought together in one syllable. 

The consonantal elements have the power of blending with each 
other in the same syllable in very different degrees. The elements 
represented by I and r have this power of blending with others in a 
very eminent degree. The element represented by s is distin- 
guished among the surds for its power of blending with the other 
consonantal elements. The word restraints affords an instance, it is 
said, of as great a number of consonantal elements pronounceable in 
the same syllable as can be found in the language. Perhaps the 
possible number may be somewhat greater. 

COMPARATIVE PHONOLOGY IN RESPECT TO COMBINATION. 
COMBINATIONS NOT IN THE LANGUAGE. 

§ 137. The English, like every other language, has its char- 
acteristic combinations. It has but few Nasal sounds in com- 
parison with the French ; but few Guttural sounds in compari- 
son with the Hebrew ; but few Rough-breathing or true aspi- 
rates in comparison with the Greek, and those mostly confined 
to compound words like off-hand, withhold, knife-handle ; but 
few Reduplications of sound, and those confined to compound 
words like soulless, book-case. 

In the Greek there are combinations of the elements indicated 
by $0 (phth), as in <j>0ioig ; by r\t (tm), as in rfidyev. In the Ar- 
menian there are syllables like stzges ; in the Choctaw, like 
yvmmak ; in the "Welsh, like yspryd ; in the Gaelic, like 



THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN COMBINATION. 159 

dhaibk ; in the Erse, like ndcanadh ; in the Icelandic, like 
njala ; in Wendish, like szvetloszti. 

Combinations like these are altogether undesirable, it would 
seem, in any language ; at least, we can felicitate ourselves that 
they are not found in the English language. 

Having, in this chapter, examined the phonetic elements of 
the language in their pronounceable and their unpronounceable 
combinations, we are prepared in the next chapter to examine 
them in their actual combinations in syllables and words. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER II. 

1. What classes of phonetic elements are pronounceable in combination? 

2. What is said of the pronunciation of the consonantal sounds in combi- 
nation ? 

3. Give three consonantal combinations which illustrate the answer to the 
last question. 

4. What is said of a surd and of a sonant element in combination 1 

5. What is the reason that a surd and a sonant can not be pronounced io 
combination ? 

6. What is said of a change of elements in pronunciation ? 

7. Give some illustrations : what does avt become? &c. 

8. In what three classes of words is the fact stated in the section respect* 
ing a change of elements of importance in its influence ? 

9. What is said of an accumulation of consonants ? 

10. What consonanted elements have eminently the power of blending 
with others ? 

11. What is said of the English in comparison with other languages in 
respect to combinations ? 

12. Are difficult combinations, like those found in some languages, desira- 
ble? 



160 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

COMBINATIONS IN SYLLABLES. 

§ 138. Certain combinations of the phonetic elements form 
Syllables. A syllable, in the spoken language, is one or more 
elementary sounds pronounced by a single impulse of the voice, 
and constituting a word or a part of a word. 

A syllable, in the written language, is a letter, or a combina- 
tion of letters, which represent a syllable in the spoken language ; 
as, an, ivis-dom. 

In the word man there are three elementary sounds, consti- 
tuting one syllable in the spoken language. These three sounds 
are represented by the three letters m, a, n, which together con- 
stitute one syllable in the written language. The word syllable 
is from the Greek words ovv, with, and Xafteiv, to take. 

Every syllable in the spoken language contains at least one 
vocal element. This element is either a vowel or a liquid ; as, 
Pat, prism, pronounced priz-m, in two syllables. 

Every syllable in the written language has at least one vow- 
el, but this is not always sounded in pronunciation ; as, in the 
last syllables of ta-bk, rea-son, e-vzl, nev-er. 

NAMES OF WORDS FROM THEIR DIVISION INTO SYL- 
LABLES. 

§ 139. Words consisting of single syllables are called mono- 
syllables, from the Greek word [iov6g, alone ; as, man, he. "Words 
consisting of two syllables are called dissyllables, from the Greek 
word dig, twice ; as, o-ver, un-der. Words consisting of three 
syllables are called trisyllables, from the Greek word rptc, 
thrice; as, dis-a-ble, fa-ther-less. Words consisting of more 
than three syllables are called polysyllables, from the Greek 
word itoXvg,many ; as, fer-men-ta-tion. 



COMBINATIONS IN SYLLABLES. 161 



PRINCIPLES OF DIVISION. 

§ 140. The first principle for dividing words into syllables is 
etymological. A word made up of two words is naturally so 
divided as to keep the simple words separate in the pronuncia- 
tion ; as j cut-ivater, turnspit, break-fast. So, also, a word form- 
ed by the addition of a grammatical suffix to the primitive is 
naturally so divided as to separate the suffix in the pronuncia- 
tion ; as, call-ing, love-ly, hunt-er. This principle is very ex- 
tensive in its application. 

2. The second principle is phonetical. Ease of pronunciation 
or melody of sound often determines the division of a word, in 
accordance with the phonology of the language. (See § 144.) 
In the application of these principles, certain general rules of 
syllabication have been laid down, which are subject to many 
exceptions. 

RULES OF SYLLABICATION. 

§ 141. 1. Compound words must be divided into the words which 
compose them; as, Over-power, foot-man, con-template. 

2. Grammatical terminations are generally separated from the 
primitive word ; as, Teach-er, teach-est, vain-ly. 

3. Two vowel elements coming together, and not forming a diph- 
thong, are divided into separate syllables ; as, Li-on, cru-el, de-ist. 

4. In dissyllables, a single consonantal element between two vow- 
el elements is joined to the latter ; as, Pa-per, Ca-to, roses. To this 
rule there are many exceptions ; as, Ep-ic, preface, up-on. 

5. Two consonantal elements pronounceable in combination be- 
tween two vowels must not be separated if the vowel of the preced- 
ing syllable is long ; as, Fa-ble, sti-fle. But when they are unpro- 
nounceable in combination, they must be divided ; as, Ut-most, un- 
der, insect. 

6. In trisyllables, a single consonantal element between the pe- 
nult and the antepenult (the last syllable but one and the last syl- 
lable but two) goes to the antepenult when accented ; as, Mem-o-ry, 
sep-a-rate. 

The etymological principle is of very extensive application, and 
yet, in settling the comparative value of the two principles in par- 
ticular -cases, the phonetical principle prevails over it ; as, Orthog- 
raphy, epiph-any, wri-ter, preface, instead of Ortho-graphy, epi-phany, 
writ-er, preface. 

h 



162 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

The objects aimed at in syllabication : 

1 . To enable the learner to discover the sounds of the words they 
are unacquainted with ; or, 

2. To show the etymology of the words ; or, 

3. To exhibit the exact pronunciation of them. 

The maker, of a spelling-book has the first object in view, an ety- 
mologist the second, an orthoepist the third, as in the preceding 
rules. 

BREATH ARRESTED AND BREATH ESCAPING. 

§ 142. In pronouncing the sound of p in hap, the current of air is 
stopped by the closure of the lips. This may be called the sound 
of breath arrested. In pronouncing the sound of p in py, the current 
of air issues from the lungs by the opening of the lips. This may 
be called the sound of breath escaping. 

Now what may be said of p may be said of all the other con- 
sonants, the words tongue, teeth, &c, being used according to the 
case. 

In the formation of syllables, the sound of breath arrested belongs 
to the first, and the sound of breath escaping belongs to the second 
syllable, as in the word happy. The whole consonant belongs nei- 
ther to one syllable nor to the other. Half of it belongs to each. 
The reduplication of the p in happy, the t in pitted, &c, is a mere 
point of spelling. See Latham's English Language, p. 162. 

The combinations of sounds which are adopted in the language 
were chosen chiefly in reference to ease of pronunciation, while 
such as are difficult of utterance and disagreeable to the ear are re- 
jected. As certain combinations of consonantal sounds (see § 64) 
are unpronounceable, so certain vowel sounds will not unite with 
each other. Accordingly, there must be in a word as many sylla- 
bles as there are vowel sounds perceptible to the ear. 

COMBINATIONS IN WORDS. 

§ 143. A word in the spoken language is a syllable, or a 
combination of syllables, uttered by the human voice, expressing 
arridea, or the relation of an idea. A word in the written lan- 
guage is the letter, or the combination of letters which represent 
these sounds in the spoken language ; as, a, art, under. 

"Words are divided by grammarians into primitive and de- 
rivative, simple and COMPOUND. 

A primitive word is one which is not traceable to any other 
word in the language for its origin ; as, Love, strong'. 



COMBINATIONS IN SYLLABLES. 



163 



A derivative word is one which is traceable to some other 
word in the language for its origin ; as. Lovely, stronger. 

A simple word is one which is not made up of other words ; 
as, Good, wiser, York. 

A compound word is one which is made up of other words ; 
as, Good-man, wise-acre, York-shire. 

THE MONOSYLLABIC CHARACTER. 

§ 144. The English language is eminently Monosyllabic, as 
may be seen by a comparison with the Latin of terms in com- 
mon use. 



English. 


Latin. 


English. 


Latin. 


Head, 


Caput. 


Touch, 


Tactus. 


Hair, 


Crinis. 


Deaf, 


Surdus. 


Tongue, 


Lingua. 


Dumb, 


Mutus. 


Scalp, 


Pericranium. 


Dog, 


Canis. 


Eye, 


Oculus. 


Hen, 


Gallina. 


Lip, 


Labrum. 


Rain, 


Pluvia. 


Hand, 


Manus. 


Wind, 


Ventus. 


Sight, 


Visus. 


Hail, 


Grando. 



Here we have thirty-eight syllables in Latin to express what is 
expressed in English by sixteen. 

The same monosyllabic principle is carried out in the con- 
struction of our verbs ; as, to see, to hear, to taste, to touch, to 
smell, to walk, to run, to leap, to jump. Fire is said to burn, 
to glow, to scorch, to parch. Water is said to flow, to glide, 
to gush, to rush, to foam, to dash. In the sky we have the 
sun, moon, and stars. The earth yields grass, corn, hay, trees, 
wheat. Our ordinary food is bread, fowl, flesh, fish. Our fuel 
is wood, peat, coal, turf. To mourn, to sigh, to groan, to 
weep, to laugh, express affections of the mind. These, and 
words like these, form the staple of the English language, 

" That is a step 
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, 
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires ; 
Let not light see my black and deep desires. 
The eye winks at the hand. Yet let that be 
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." 

Shakspeare's Macbeth. 

Here we have fifty-two words, and but two dissyllables. 



164 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

" For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, 
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed ; 
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, 
And their hearts beat but once, and forever lay still. 

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, 
And through them there rolled not the breath of his pride ; 
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, 
And cold as the spray on the rock-beating surf." 

Byron's Destruction of Sennacherib. 

Of these eighty-nine consecutive words, seventy-nine are mono- 
syllables, and seventy-seven of these monosyllables are of Anglo- 
Saxon origin. See Harrison's English Language. 

In contrast to this, we have the two following polysyllabic 
words from the language of the Massachusetts Indians : Noo- 
wantammoonkanunonnash=owr loves: Kummogkodonattoott- 
nmmooetiteaongannunnonash = our question. 

Having, in this chapter, examined the combinations of pho- 
netic elements in syllables and words, we are prepared, in the 
next, to examine the syllables and words in relation to accent. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER III. 

1 . What is a syllable in the spoken language % 

2. What is a syllable in the written language ? 

3. Give an example of each. 

4. What is an essential part of a syllable in the spoken language % 

5. What is an essential part of a syllable in the written language 1 

G. Give the names of the different classes of words from their division into 
syllables. 

7. What are the principles upon which words are divided into syllables 1 

8. How are compound words and grammatical terminations treated in syl- 
labication 1 

0. What is said of the etymological principle in its application? 

10. What are the several objects aimed at in syllabication? 

1 1 . What is said of breath arrested and breath escaping ? 

12. What is a word in the spoken language 1 in the written language 1 

13. Into what classes are words divided? 

14. What is a primitive word ? a derivative word ? a simple word 1 a com- 
pound word 1 Give a specimen of each. 

15. What is the character of the English language in respect to syllables 1 

16. How many syllables are there severally in the two Indian words 1 



ACCENT. I65 



CHAPTER IV. 

ACCENT. 



CLASSICAL ACCENT. 

§ 145. Accent, from the Latin ad, and cano, to sing (accent- 
us), in the Classic sense, has reference to certain inflections of 
the voice, like musical notes, which distinguish certain syllables 
of a word, called the acute accent, the grave, and the circum- 
flex. It signified a musical modulation of the voice. The pre- 
cise manner in which these distinctions were made by the voice 
in the Greek language it is impossible for us to know, now that 
it has ceased to be a living language. We still, however, see 
the visible marks on the page, and we know that the acute ac- 
cent (') can stand only on one of the last three syllables of a 
word ; the circumflex { ~ ) on one of the last two ; the grave ( v ) 
only on the last. 



ENGLISH ACCENT. 



§ 146. Accent, in the English sense, is a particular stress or 
ictus of voice upon certain syllables of words, which distinguish- 
es them from others. In the word tyrant there is a stress on the 
first syllable. In the word presume there is a stress on the sec- 
ond syllable. This stress is called Accent, which is sometimes 
expressed by a mark ( ' ) ; in which case the word is said to be 
accented, that is, to have the accent signified by writing. 

1. "Words accented on the last syllable : Brigade', pretense' ', 
harpoon'. Words accented on the last syllable but one, or the 
penult : An'chor, has' ten, fa'ther. Words accented on the last 
syllable but two, or the antepenult: Reg'ular, an'tidote, for'- 
tify. Words accented on the last syllable but three : Reg'ulat- 
ing, absolutely, inevitable. 

2. Some words have a secondary accent ; as, Car"avan' ', 
vi"olin', pri"vateer'. 

j_ (xuest, in his History of English Rhythms, has proved that 
accent, in English, consists in stress, and not in acuteness, by 



166 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

two arguments : " 1. "When a sentence is whispered, and mu- 
sical tone is thus excluded, the difference between the accented 
and the unaccented syllables is still perceptible. 2. In the com- 
mon pronunciation of the Lowland Scotch, the syllable on which 
the greater stress is laid is pronounced with a grave accent." 

RULES FOR ENGLISH ACCENT. 

§ 147. The rules for acccent are general, and subject to many 
exceptions. 

1. In words from the Anglo-Saxon, the accent is generally on 
the root ; as, Love, love'ly ; loveliness. This is called the Rad- 
ical accent. 

2. In words from the Classical languages, the accent is gen- 
erally laid on the termination ; as, Confuse', confu'sion ; affirm', 
affirmation. This is called the Terminational accent. 

3. Many words are accented to distinguish them from others 
which are spelled like them, as in the following instances : At- 
tribute, to attribute ; the month Au'gust, an august' person ; 
a com' pact, compact', close ; to con' jure (magically), to con- 
jure', enjoin ; des'ert, wilderness, desert', merit ; min'ute, six- 
ty seconds, minute', small; su'pine, part of speech, supine', 
careless. This is called the Distinctive accent. 

Accent is to syllables what emphasis is to words ; it distin- 
guishes one from others, and brings it forward to observation. 

ACCENT ON MONOSYLLABLES. 

^148. Monosyllables standing alone have no accent. In sen- 
tences they sometimes take the accent, and sometimes do not take 
it, according to their accidental importance ; as in the following line : 
" Far 7 as the so 7 lar walk 7 or milk 7 y wa 7 y." . Some of the particles are 
not accented except when under emphasis. For the meaning of 
the word particle, see § 361. 

ACCENT ON DISSYLLABLES. 

^ 149. Words of two syllables have necessarily one of them ac- 
cented, generally the first ; as, FoHow, lio'ly, pa'per. Amen, farewell, 
and some others, are pronounced with two accents. 

1 . Dissyllables formed by affixing a termination have the former 
syllable commonly accented; as, Child'ish, king'dom. 

2. Dissyllables formed by prefixing a syllable to the radical word 



ACCENT. 167 

have commonly the accent on the latter ; as, To beseem 1 ', to re- 
tain'. 

3. Dissyllables which are used either as nouns or verbs, common- 
ly have the accent, when used as nouns, on the former syllable, and 
when used as verbs, on the latter ; as, A ce'ment, to cement' ; a con'- 
tract, to contract'. To this there are many exceptions. 

4. Dissyllables that have two vowels which are separated in the 
pronunciation have always the accent on the first ; as, Li' on, ri'ot ; 
except create'. 

ACCENT ON TRISYLLABLES. 

§ 150. 1. Trisyllables formed by adding a termination or prefix- 
ing a syllable retain the accent on the radical word ; as, Ten'derness, 
bespat'ter. 

2. Large classes of words of three syllables have the accent on 
the first ; as, Coun'tenance, en'tity, leg'ible, hab'itude. 

3. Trisyllables ending in -ator, or which have in the middle syl- 
lable a diphthong, or a vowel before two consonants, accent the mid- 
dle syllable ; as, Specta'tor, endeav'or, domes'tic ; except Or'ator, sen'- 
ator, bar' r ator, leg' ator. 

4. Trisyllables that have their accent on the last syllable are com- 
monly French ; as, Repartee', magazine'. 

ACCENT ON POLYSYLLABLES. 

§ 151 . Polysyllables generally follow the accent of the words from 
which they are derived ; as, Abrogating, from ar'rogate ; inconti- 
nently, from con'tinent. As a general rule, polysyllables accent the 
antepenult ; as, Extrav'agant, particular, notori'ety. 

THE EFFECT OF EMPHASIS UPON ACCENT. 

§ 152. The distinction between emphasis and accent is this : 
A stress upon a word in a sentence, by which it is distinguished 
from the other words, is emphasis. A stress upon a syllable of 
a word, by which it is distinguished from the other syllables, is 
accent. Emphasis sometimes changes the place of accent in a 
word. Thus the accent of unsociable, intolerable, increase, de- 
crease, falls regularly on the syllables so, tol, in, de. But when 
we say, " Some men are sociable, others unsociable ; some men 
are tolerable, others intolerable ; he must increase, I must de- 
crease," we throw the accent upon un, in, de, the particles on 
which the contrast depends. 



168 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

Having, in this chapter, examined syllables and words under 
the laws of accent, we shall proceed, in the next chapter, to con- 
sider them in relation to quantity. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER IV. 

1. What is classical accent, and what is the derivation of the word accent? 

2. Mention the three different kinds of accent, and in what places in a word 
they are severally employed 1 

3. What is English accent? 

4. Give examples of words accented on different syllables. 

5. Have any words more than one accent ? 

6. What are Guest's arguments to prove that English accent consists in 
stress and not in acuteness 1 

7. Give an example of a word having a secondary accent. 

8. What is said of accent on monosyllables ? 

9. Give the rules for the accent on dissyllables. 

10. Give the rules for the accent on trisyllables and polysyllables. 

11. What is the effect of emphasis on the place of accent ? 

12. Give an example of a word whose accent is changed by emphasis. 



QUANTITY. 169 



CHAPTER V. 

QUANTITY. 



CLASSIC OR SYLLABIC QUANTITY. 

§ 153. Quantity, in the Classic sense, has reference to the 
length of Syllables, measured by the length of time taken up in 
pronouncing them. In measuring the quantity of syllables, the 
vowel must be considered along with the consonants that follow 
it. Accordingly, in Latin and Greek, a vowel before two conso- 
nants is long by position, as it is called. Measured by this rule, 
the English syllables mend and mends would be considered long. 
A long syllable requires double the time of a short one in pro- 
nouncing it. 

ENGLISH OR VOWEL QUANTITY. 

§ 154. Quantity, in the English sense, has reference to the 
length of Yowels, measured by the time taken up in pronouncing 
them. By comparing the sound of the vowel in each word in the 
column below, at the left hand, with the sound of the vowel in 
the word opposite, in the column at the right, as, for instance, 
the sound of a in fate with the sound of a in fat, it will be seen 
that the first in each case is pronounced more slowly than the 
second. The first, therefore, in each couplet, as the utterance 
of it occupies more time, is called long. The second, as the ut- 
terance of it occupies less time, is called short. 



Long Vowels. 


a in 


father. 


a " 


fate. 


<; a 


a 


ee " 


feet. 


00 " 


cool. 


o " 


note. 


aw " 


bawl. 


a a 


a 


THE 


two : 



Short Vowels. 
u a a 


a 
e 


in 

u 


fat. 
bed. 


i 
u 




pit. 
bull. 







not. 
tt 


U 


a 


but. 



ODES OF MEASUREMENT. 



§ 155. If the quantity of the Syllable be determined by the quan- 
tity of the Yowel, in the English mode, all syllables are short in 



170 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

which there is a short vowel, and all long in which there is a long 
one. According to this mode, the syllable see, in seeing, is long, and 
sits is short. 

But if the quantity of the Syllable be measured, in the Classic 
mode, not by the length of the Vowel, but by the length of the Syl- 
lable taken altogether, see, in seeing, being followed by another vow- 
el, is short, and sits is long, the syllable being closed by two conso- 
nants. Thus we see that what is long by the one mode of meas- 
urement is short by the other. The syllables mend and mends, 
already mentioned as long when measured by the Classic rule, are 
short when mentioned by the English rule. 

DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT. 

§ 156. Professor Latham proposes for the words Long and Short 
to substitute Independent and Dependent. He says, " If from the word 
fate I separate the final consonantal sound, the syllable fa remains. 
In this syllable the a has precisely the sound which it had before. 
It remains unaltered. The removal of the consonant has in no wise 
modified its sound or power. It is not so with the vowel in the 
word fat. If from this I remove the consonant following, and so 
leave the a at the end of the syllable, instead of in the middle, I 
must do one of two things : I must sound it either as a in fate, or 
else as the a in father. Its (so-called) short sound it can not retain, 
unless it is supported by a consonant following. For this reason it 
is dependent. The same is the case with all the so-called short 
sounds, viz. : the e in bed, i in fit, u in bull, o in not, u in but. The 
words independent and dependent correspond with the terms per- 
fect and imperfect of the Hebrew grammarians." The division of 
vowels into long and short coincides nearly with the division into in- 
dependent and dependent. 

COMMON RULES. 

§ 157. A Yowel or syllable is Long when the accent is on the 
vowel, which occasions it to be slowly joined in the pronuncia- 
tion to the following element ; as, Fa/ll, ba/le, mi'te. 

A Vowel or syllable is Short when the accent is on the conso- 
nant, which occasions the vowel to be quickly joined to the suc- 
ceeding element ; as, Ban'ner, fil'let, but'ter. 

A long syllable generally requires double the time of a short 
one in pronouncing it. Thus mate and note should be pro- 
nounced as slowly again as mat and not. 



QUANTITY. 171 

Unaccented syllables are generally short ; as, Admi're, bald'- 
ness. But to this rule there are many exceptions ; as, Al'so, 
ex'ile. 

"When the accent is on a consonant, the syllable is often more 
or less short, as it ends with a single consonant or more than 
one ; as, Rob"ber, match'less. When the accent is on a Con- 
tinuous consonant, the time of the syllable may be protracted by 
dwelling on the consonant ; as, Can', fulfill'. But when the 
accent falls on an Explosive Consonant, the syllable can not be 
lengthened in the same manner ; as, Bub'ble, tot'ter. 

1 . All vowels under the principal accent, before the terminations 
-ia, -io, and -ion, preceded by a single consonant, are pronounced 
long ; as, Regalia, folio, adhesion, explosion, confusion; except the vow- 
el i, which in that situation is short ; as, Militia, punctilio, decision, 
contrition. The only exceptions to this rule seem to be, Discretion, 
battalion, gladiator, national, rational. 

2. All vowels that immediately precede the terminations -ity and 
-ety are pronounced long ; as, Deity, piety, spontaneity. But if one 
consonant precedes these terminations, every preceding accented 
vowel is short, except u, and the a in scarcity ; as, Polarity, severity, 
divinity, curiosity, impunity. Even u before two consonants contracts 
itself; as, Curvity, taciturnity, &c. 

3. Vowels under the principal accent, before the terminations -ic 
and -ical, preceded by a single consonant, are pronounced short ; 
thus, Satanic, pathetic, elliptic, harmonic, have the vowel short ; while 
Tunic, runic, cubic, have the accented vowel long ; and Fanatical, 
poetical, Levitical, canonical, have the vowel short ; but Cubical, mu- 
sical, &c, have the u long. 

4. The vowel in the antepenultimate syllable of words with the 
following terminations is always pronounced short. 



-loquy, 


as obloquy. 


-parous, 


as oviparous. 


-strophe, 


" apostrophe. 


-cracy, 


" aristocracy. 


-meter, 


" barometer. 


-gony, 


" cosmogony. 


-gonal, 


" diagonal. 


-phony, 


" symphony. 


-vorous, 


" carnivorous. 


-nomy, 


" astronomy. 


-ferous, 


" somniferous. 


-tomy, 


" anatomy. 


-fluous, 


" superfluous. 


-pathy, 


" antipathy. 


-fluent, 


" mellifluent. 







THE RELATION OF ACCENT TO QUANTITY. 

§ 158. Accent and Quantity do not coincide. Nothing shows this 
more clearly than words like the adjective august' > and the sub- 



172 . PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

stantive Au'gust, where the quantity remains the same, although 
the accent is different. Still, accent has an influence on quantity. 
" Besides the increase of loudness, and the sharper tone which 
distinguishes the accented syllable, there is also a tendency to dwell 
upon it, or, in other words, to lengthen its quantity. We can not 
increase the loudness or the sharpness of the tone without a certain 
degree of muscular action ; and to put the muscles in motion re- 
quires time. It would seem that the time required for producing a 
perceptible increase in the loudness or the sharpness of a tone is 
greater than that of pronouncing some of our shorter syllables. If 
we attempt, for instance, to throw the accent on the first syllable of 
the word become, we must either lengthen the vowel, and pronounce 
the word bee-come, or add the adjoining consonant to the first syllable, 
and so pronounce the word bec-ome. We often find it convenient to 
lengthen the quantity even of the syllables, when we wish to give 
them a very strong and marked accent. Hence, no doubt, arose the 
vulgar notion that accent always lengthens the quantity of a sylla- 
ble." See Guest's English Rhythms, book L, chap. xiv. On the 
relation of Accent to Quantity, see Part VIII., on Poetical Forms. 

Having, in the previous chapters, examined the phonetic ele- 
ments in their combinations, and under the laws of syllabica- 
tion, accent, and quantity, we shall next examine them in rela- 
tion to euphony. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER V. 

1. What is quantity in the classic sense, and how is it measured? Give 
examples. 

2. What is quantity in the English sense, and how is it measured ? Give 
examples. 

3. Give the long vowel sounds and the short vowel sounds in the language. 

4. State the results of the two modes of measurement. 

5. Explain and illustrate the meaning of the terms independent and de- 
pendent. 

6. What relation do these sounds bear to the terms long and short ? 

7. When is a vowel or a syllable long ? 

8. When is a vowel or a syllable short 1 

9. How does a long syllable compare in length with a short one? 

10. State the relation of accent to quantity. 



EUPHONIC CHANGES. 373 



CHAPTER VI. 

EUPHONIC CHANGES. 



DEFINITIONS. 



§ 159. Euphony, as opposed to cacophony , is that quality of 
sound by which it strikes the ear agreeably. As the ear, the 
organ by which we apprehend language, is in this respect the 
vestibule of the soul, it must be important whether a sound ex- 
cites the ear, and, of course, the soul, pleasantly or unpleasantly. 

Although euphony is a quality of sound, and seems to respect the 
ear only, yet, if we consider the contiguity of the organs of speech 
to the ear, and the natural laws of the association of ideas, we shall 
easily be convinced that it depends for the most part on ease of ut- 
terance. The sound produced in the mouth is in close contact with 
the ear, which is thus constituted its rightful judge. That which 
passes through the lips easily strikes pleasantly on the ear ; that 
which occasions pain and difficulty in the utterance, makes, on the 
contrary, a painful impression on that organ. 

The facility of utterance depends on a just intermixture of vo- 
calic and liquid sounds on the one hand, and of mute consonants 
on the other. This undoubtedly is the fundamental principle of 
euphony. The two faults opposed to this are a superabundance of 
vowels or liquids, producing too great softness, and a superabund- 
ance of consonants, producing too great harshness. 

Although the general principles of euphony are obvious, yet, in 
judging of particular cases, much is left to taste, caprice, and fash- 
ion. Habit tends to make an unpleasant sound agreeable, and fash- 
ion often predominates to reject sounds in themselves pleasant. 
Thus different nations have formed for themselves different laws of 
euphony. 

EUPHONIC FIGURES. 

§ 160. The changes produced in words by euphony are called 
Figures. The euphonic changes indicated by the term are en- 
tirely distinct from those which arise in the formation and in- 
flection of words. 



174 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

These figures of euphony have not received in our common gram- 
mars the attention they deserve. They have been compressed into 
a narrow space, and regarded as arbitrary processes. Their con- 
nection with the physiology of sound, and their importance in the 
formation of language, have not been duly estimated. They are 
now beginning to form the most interesting chapter in comparative 
philology, and to have their bounds and limits accurately marked 
out. 

These figures are either necessary, occasioned by the general laws 
of euphony, or accidental, occasioned by the sense of euphony in a 
particular people. Both kinds, again, are either external, i. e., such 
as are perceived from a comparison with a kindred dialect or with 
an original language ; or internal, i. e., such as appear in the struc- 
ture itself of a particular language. 

The following are the principal euphonic figures : 

I. Aph^iresis, Greek dcpaipeatg, a taking away, is the taking 
of a letter or a syllable from the beginning of a word ; as, 
'gainst, 'neath, for against, beneath. 

II. Prosthesis, Greek Trpocdeoic, addition, is the addition of 
a letter or syllable to the beginning of a word ; as, adown, be- 
loved, for down, loved. 

III. Apocope, Greek ano/coirr], a cutting off, is the cutting 
off a letter or letters from the end of a word ; as, t W evenings 
four o' clock, for the and of. 

IY. Syncope, Greek ovynom], a cutting short, is the taking 
away of one or more letters from the middle of a word ; as, e'en, 
se'ennight, for even, sevennight. 

V. Epenthesis, Greek enevdeacg, is the insertion of a letter or 
syllable in the middle of a word ; as, honour, could, for honor, 
coud. 

YI. Paragoge, Greek rrapayoyrj, a drawing out, is the an- 
nexing of a letter or syllable to the end of a word ; as, awaken, 
withouten, for awake, without. 

VII. Diuresis, Greek diaipeoic, division, is the dissolving of 
a diphthong, with a mark over two vowels, which might other- 
wise be taken for one syllable ; as, zoology, aerial. 

VIII. Synjeresis, Greek ovvaipeoig, contraction, is the con- 
tracting of two syllables into one ; as, ae and ie in Israel and 
alienate. 

IX. Metathesis, Greek (xerdOeoic, transposition, is the trans- 



EUPHONIC CHANGES. 



175 



posing of letters m a word ; as pistris for pristis ; bird for An- 
glo-Saxon brid. 

X. Commutation, Latin commutation an exchange, is ex- 
changing one letter for another. See Grimm's Law, §161, and 
also § 162. 

grimm's law of convertibility. 

§ 161. Every language has its own principles of euphony pervad- 
ing it. This is strikingly manifest in a comparison of the Romanic 
languages with one another in their departure from their common 
parent, the Latin. Thus the word flos in the Latin becomes fieur 
in French, flor in Spanish, fiore in Italian. J. Grimm, the great his- 
torical grammarian of the age, discovered that in the interchange of 
consonants in the Teutonic languages in their relation to the San- 
scrit, Greek, and Latin, which are here reckoned as one, and in their 
relation to one another, there is a certain law, which, from its dis- 
coverer, has been called " Grimm's law." According to this, Moeso- 
Gothic, when compared with the Sanscrit, Greek, and Latin, sub- 
stitutes aspirates in place of the primitive tenues, namely, h for k, 
th for t, and/ fovp ; tenues in the place of medials, namely, t for 
d, p for b, and Tt for g ; lastly, medials in the place of aspirates, 
namely, g for ch, d for th, and b for p. Upper German holds the 
same relation to the Gothic which this does to the Greek, according 
to the following summary. 



SUMMARY OF THE LAW. 

Labials. Linguals. Gutturals. 

Greek p, b, f, t, d, th, k, g, ch. 

Moeso-Gothic f, p, b, th, t, d, k, g. 

O. H. German b, (v)f, p, d, z, t, g, ch, k. 

Sanscrit. Greek. Latin. Moeso-Gothic. O. H. German. English. 

Pdda, Trove, pes, fotus, vuos, foot. 

Pitri, izarrip, pater, fadrein, ' vatar, father. 

Tvam, tv (D), tu, thu, du, thou. 

Kaphala, KeyaXrj, caput, houbith, howpit, head. 

Gdnu, yovv, genu, Jcniu, chniu, knee. 

These are only specimens of a law which obtains in these languages. 

LAW OF CONVERTIBILITY IN THE LATIN, ENGLISH, 
AND GERMAN. 

$ 162. As the English language stands on the ground of the Moeso- 
Gothic, and the German on the ground of the ancient High German, 



176 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. * 

we have the following illustrations of " Grimm's law," from a com- 
parison of the Latin, English, and German. 

1. The Latin c (=k) becomes h (for kh) in English and German. 
Latin calamus ; English halm ; German Aalm. Latin cannabis ; En- 
glish kmp ; German /*anf. Latin centum ; English /mndred ; Ger- 
man fomdert. 

2. The Latin h (for kh) becomes g in English and German. Lat. 
Asedus ; Eng. goat ; Germ, geiss. Lat. Aostis ; Eng. guest ; Germ, 
gast. 

3. The Latin g becomes k or c in English and German. Lat. 
gena, ; Eng. chin ; Germ. kinn. Lat. granum ; Eng. corn and Aernel ; 
Germ, corn and kern. 

4. The Latin t becomes th in English and d in German. Lat. 
fonitru ; Eng. Sunder ; Germ. Conner. Lat. £res ; Eng. three, ; 
Germ. dxei. 

5. The Latin or Greek th becomes d in English and t in German. 
Gr. thugaXex ; Eng. daughter ; Germ. Jochter. Gr. thex ; Eng. c?eer ; 
Germ, rtiier. 

6. The Latin d becomes t in English and z in German. Lat. de- 
cern ; Eng. ten ; Germ. zehn. Lat. Jens ; Eng. Zooth ; Germ. ^ahn. 

7. The Latin p becomes fin English, and y or v in German. Lat. 
^ater ; Eng. /ather ; Germ, vater. Gr. pente ; Eng. five ; Germ, 
/unf. 

8. The Latin f becomes b in English and German. Lat.ykgus; 
Eng. 5eech; Germ. Z»uche. Lat.jTlos; Eng. Moom ; Germ. Mume. 

9. The Latin b becomes p in English and jf in German. Lat. can- 
nabis ; Eng. hemp ; Germ. naxf. 

All these examples, excepting the very last one, have respect to 
the initial sound of the word, where these principles exert their 
power freely ; but in the middle or end of a word, these principles 
are- often affected by euphonic laws, arising from the accumulation 
of consonants. 

Sometimes two of these changes are illustrated in the same word ; 
as, 1. Lat. claudus ; Eng. halt. See Nos. 1 and 6. — 2. Lat. caput; 
Anglo-Saxon heafod. See Nos. 1 and 7. — 3. Lat. cannabis; Eng. 
hemp. See Nos. 1 and 9. — 4. Lat. hsedns ; Eng. goa.t. See Nos. 
2 and 6. — 5. Eng. third; Germ, dvitte. See Nos. 4 and 5. — 6. 
Lat. isJucZ; Eng. that ; Germ. da,s. See Nos. 4 and 6. — 7. Lat. 
Zrudo ; Eng. thrust. See Nos. 4 and 6. — 8. Gr. theggo ; Eng. duck. 
See Nos. 5 and 3. — 9. Eng. deep; Germ, tief See Nos. 5 and 9. 
— 10. Eng. tide ; Germ. zeit. See Nos. 6 and 5. — 11. Lat. p&ter ; 
Eng./a^Acr. See Nos. 7 and 4. — 12. Lat. piscis ; Eng./isA. See 



EUPHONIC CHANGES. 177 

Nos. 7 and 1. — 13. Lat./rang-o ; Eng. break. — 14. Lat./ra/er ; Eng. 
brother. See Nos. 8 and 4. 



VOWEL CHANGES. \ 

§ 163. 1. There is a play of vowels in the collateral Teutonic 
roots, especially in those that are formed by onomatopeia ; as, gloom, 
gleam ; juggle, gaggle, and giggle ; cluck, clack, click ; croak, crack, 
creak. 

2. There is a play of vowels in Teutonic words formed by redu- 
plication, one of the more simple and mechanical processes in the 
formation of language ; as, chit-chat, ding-dong, zig-zag, whim-wham. 
This mode of forming words, consisting in a mechanical repetition of 
the same sound, is naturally adapted to express (1.) The continu- 
ous flow of conversation ; as, chit-chat, tittle-tattle; (2.) Other con- 
stant and repeated sounds ; as, ding-dong, tick-tack ; (3.) Certain os- 
cillatory motions ; as, zig-zag, see-saiv ; (4.) Certain mental fluctu- 
ations ; as, whim-wham, knick-knacks ; (5.) Some miscellaneous things 
involving the idea of repetition ; as, mish-mash, slip-slop. 

3. There is a play of vowels or diphthongs in the formation of 
the past tense and of the past participle in the ancient and strong 
inflection of Teutonic verbs, which is seen, however, to much better 
advantage in the kindred dialects than in the English language ; as, 
pres. break, past brake, part, broken ; pres. sing, past sang, part, sung; 
pres. give, past gave, part, given ; pres. slay, past slew, part, slain ; 
pres. drive, past drove, part, driven. 

4. There is a play of vowels in the derivation of nouns from Teu- 
tonic verbs ; as, band and bond from to bind ; bat and bate from to 
beat ; cake from to cook ; dole from to deal ; doom from to deem ; share 
and shire from to shear. 

5. There is an attenuation or precession of vowels in certain form- 
ative processes of Teutonic words. 

a. In the formation of -^rbs from nouns; as, to bleed, from blood 
(compare Anglo-Saxon bledan, from blod) ; to breed, from brood (com- 
pare German briiten, from brut); to feed, from food (compare Anglo- 
Saxon fedan, from fod). b. In the formation of verbs from other 
verbs, and having a factitive or causative sense ; as, to bait, from to 
bite (compare Anglo-Saxon batan, from bit an) ; to fell, from to fall ; 
to lay, from to lie (compare Anglo-Saxon lecgan, from licgan) ; to set, 
from to sit. c. In the formation of adjectives from substantives ; as, 
English, from Angle (compare Anglo-Saxon Englisc, from Angle), 
d. In the formation of abstract substantives from adjectives, by means 
of the suffix th; as, breadth, from broad; length, from long. e. In 
the formation of certain diminutives ; as, bundle, from bond; gosling, 
from goose ; kitten, from cat. 

M 



178 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

6. There is an attenuation or precession of vowels in certain in- 
flectionary processes, a. In the formation of some plural nouns ; 
as, goose, plur. geese (compare Anglo-Saxon gos, plur. ges) ; tooth, 
plur. teeth (compare Anglo-Saxon toth, plur. teth). b. In the com- 
parison of adjectives ; as, old, elder, eldest ; Anglo-Saxon eald, yldre, 
yldest. 

THE COMPARATIVE EUPHONY OF THE ENGLISH LAN- 
GUAGE. 

§ 164. The English language, as compared with the Classic- 
al and the Romanic languages, is deficient in vowel sounds. 
This will appear evident, not only from hearing the spoken lan- 
guage, but also from the comparative number of vowel charac- 
ters on the printed page. Complaints have been made that our 
language is harsh and coarse in its phonology, owing to this ac- 
cumulation of consonantal elements, and the deficiency of vowel 
sounds, especially in the termination of words. Thus Lord By- 
ron compliments the Italian in comparison with our own : 

" I love the language, that soft bastard Latin, 

Which melts like kisses from a female mouth, 
And sounds as if it should be writ on satin 

With syllables that breathe of the sweet South, 
And gentle liquids gliding all so pat in 

That not a single accent seems uncouth, 
Like our harsh Northern, whistling, grunting guttural, 
Which we are obliged to hiss, and spit, and sputter all." 

Beppo, stanza xlir. 

In contrast to this, it has been said that " Servian song re- 
sembles the tone of the violin ; Old Slavonian, that of the organ ; 
Polish, that of the guitar. The Old Slavonian, in its Psalms, 
sounds like the loud rush of the mountain stream ; the Polish, 
like the bubbling and sparkling of a fountain ; and the Servian, 
like the quiet murmuring of a streamlet in a valley." 

The ancient accent, consisting as it did of musical tones, 
must have contributed to the euphony of the Classical languages 
in comparison with the English accent, which consists of stress. 
In singing, the vowel sounds are made prominent ; in speaking, 
the consonantal sounds. In singing, the sound rises and falls 
to other grades in the scale without a continuous slide of the. 
voice, and is called the discrete sound. In speaking, the sound 



EUPHONIC CHANGES. I79 

ascends and descends in the scale, from one pitch to another, by a 
continuous slide, and is called concrete sound. *The Classic na- 
tions seem, in their accent, to have united the two modes of 
pronouncing words. 

PLAN FOR REMEDYING THE DEFECT. 

§ 165. To remedy the alleged defect, Pinkerton, under the 
assumed name of Robert Heron, declares that our language 
wants 8000 vowel terminations in comparison with the Greek., 
Here is a specimen of the manner in which he would supply 
them : "When I waz ato Grand Cairo, I picked up several Ori- 
entala manuscripta, whica I have' still by me. Among othera s 
I met with one' intitulen Thea Viziona of Mirza, whica I have 
read ove' with great pleasure'. I intend to give' ito to the 
publico, when I have' no other entertain menta fo them, ando 
shall begin with the first, whica I have' translaten wordo fo 
wordo az folio weth." The final s in all plurals is turned into a. 
E is to be given to all substantives in y, as beaute', bounte' ; 
and to be pronounced in finals, as fame', grace'. I is to be 
given to all adjectives in y, as healthi, weari. O is given to 
all substantives ending in harsh consonants, as eggo, capo 9 
facto. 

For a more full account of this absurd and impracticable 
scheme, see Cambridge Philological Museum, page 649, vol. i. 

While changes like these are impossible, and are to be depre- 
cated if they were possible, still, changes are to be expected in 
the orthographical forms of the language of a nation, just as 
there are in the ideas which are expressed by that language. 
These changes should not be left to be settled by chance or by 
caprice, but by the judicious application of the principles of Or- 
thography. 

It ought, however, in justice to be added, that while the En- 
glish is inferior to some languages in its euphony, it is superior 
to many. Indeed, many languages, in the accumulation of con- 
sonantal elements, and in their harsh guttural tones, resemble 
some of the languages in the north of Europe, characterized by 
Julian as being like the scream of birds and the cries of wild 
beasts. 



180 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 



CAUSES OF DIVERSITY IN EUPHONY. 

§ 166. "Professor Willis, of Cambridge, in the course of some most 
ingenious experiments upon the organization and condition of the 
human larynx, came upon the law which regulated the pronuncia- 
tion of the vowels. He found this to be partly in proportion to the 
size of the opening of the pipe, partly to the force with which air is 
propelled through it ; and by the adaptation of a tremulous artificial 
larynx to the pipe of an organ, he produced the several vowels at 
will. Now, bearing in mind the difference between the living or- 
gan and the dead one, the susceptibility of the former to dilatation 
and compression, from the effects not only of the human will, but 
also of cold, of denser or thinner currents of air, but, above all, of 
the influence which the general state of the body must have upon 
every part of it, we are furnished at once with the necessary hy- 
pothesis, viz., that climate, and the local position, on which climate 
much depends, are the main agencies in producing the original va- 
riations of dialect. Once produced, tradition perpetuates them, with 
subsequent modifications proportionate to the change in the original 
condition, the migration to localities of a different character, the con- 
gregation into towns, the cutting down of forests, the cultivation of 
the soil, by which the prevalent degrees of cold, and the very direc- 
tion of the currents of air, are in no small degree altered. It is clear 
that the same influence will apply to all such consonants as can be 
in any way affected by the greater or less tension of the organs, con- 
sequently, above all, to the gutturals ; next, to the palatals, which 
may be defined by the position of the tongue ; least of all to the 
labials, and generally to the liquids also, though these may be more 
or less strongly pronounced by different peoples. 

" In reviewing the principal languages of the ancient and the mod- 
ern world, where the migrations of those that spoke them can be 
traced with certainty, we are struck with the fact that the dwellers 
in chains of mountains, or in the elevated plains of hilly districts, 
strongly affect broad vowels and guttural consonants." — J. M. Kem- 
ble, vol. ii., Phil. Soc, p. 122. 

" The mountaineer and the inhabitant of the sea-coast must often 
have had to struggle with the contending winds and waves to make 
themselves heard, and would naturally acquire a louder and more 
vehement tone than those whose happier lot it was to enjoy the calm 
of the still, sequestered vale. 

" The organs of speech arc differently framed by nature in differ- 
ent climates and countries ; and even in the same countries, some 



EUPHONIC CHANGES. 181 

men pronounce their words broader, softer, harder, quicker, or slow- 
er than others, and some are unable to pronounce this or that letter. 
These accidents, by example and imitation, bring on a change of 
vowels and consonants, whence a language becomes unlike what it 
was at first." See preface to Boucher's Dictionary. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER VI. 

1. What is euphony 1 

2. Upon what does euphony depend 1 

3. Upon what does ease of utterance depend ? 

4. Mention two faults in this connection. 

5. What are euphonic figures 1 

6. Mention the two kinds of euphonic figures. 

7. Give the definition and an example of each figure. 

8. Are the principles of euphony the same in all languages ? 

9. How can you show that they are not the same by a reference to the Ro- 
manic languages 1 

10. What can you say of Grimm's law 1 

11. How does the English language compare with the Classical and Ro- 
manic languages in the number of its vowel sounds 1 

12. What effect had the ancient accent upon the euphony of the Classical 
languages ? 

13. What general causes operate to produce a diversity in the euphony of 
different languages % 

14. Describe Professor Willis's experiment. 



182 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE NATURAL SIGNIFICANCY OF ARTICULATE 
SOUNDS. 

§ 167. The natural significance of sounds, although it has hitherto 
been exhibited imperfectly, and only in distant surmises, is now be- 
ginning to be regarded as one of the deepest and most important 
doctrines in philology. It is considered as an established fact that 
every, articulate sound has naturally a specific import. For, in or- 
der to the existence of language, it is not enough that man has the 
organs of speech, that he has sensations and ideas, and that he has 
a desire to communicate them to others, but it is also necessary 
that sounds should have a natural adaptedness to express the par- 
ticular sensations and ideas. 

Although existing languages exhibit, as it were, only partial frag- 
ments and mutilated ruins of the ancient tongues once spoken on 
our earth, yet the principle for which we contend is still sufficiently 
evident in them, more especially in the popular dialects, and in the 
terms employed for describing sensible objects, operations, and re- 
lations. In innumerable cases, where the relation is the same, the 
same sound has been chosen, to speak algebraically, as the expo- 
nent of that relation. 

It must, however, be remarked, that the natural significancy of 
sounds is, for the most part, a matter of feeling, and can not be ex- 
hibited in nice logical distinctions. Instruction on this subject can 
only furnish hints, which may awaken attention to the life and en- 
ergy which pervade language, and give a general idea of the import 
of sounds. 

Some of our best poets have been highly commended for adapting 
the sound to the sense. Surely this would not be possible unless 
there were some correlation between sound and sense. 

The vowel constitutes the life and soul of a word, the consonant 
its body or form. The vowel is more fleeting and changeable, yet 
not entirely arbitrary. 

In examining the import of the different vowel and consonant 
sounds, we shall endeavor to follow the order of their development. 
Hence we begin with the vowels. 



THE NATURAL SIGNIFICANCY OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS. 183 

I. The Mean Vowel a. 

The sound of a in father is to be regarded as the leading vowel- 
.sound in the Indo-European languages; (1.) Because it is the sim- 
plest and most easily enounced ; (2.) Because it is the first enounced 
by children ; (3.) Because it is the most common vowel-sound ; (4.) 
Because it is a part of most roots ; and (5.) Because it stands at the 
head of most alphabets. 

Among the uses of this vowel are the following : 

1. As the enunciation of this vowel requires nothing but the or- 
dinary position of the organs of speech, with a simple opening of 
the mouth and breathing, it is the natural expression of passion, 
pain, or grief; as, Sanscrit ha, Persian ah, Hebrew ahh, Arabic ah t 
Greek a, Latin ah, German ach, ah, English ah, Welsh a, Irish a. 

2. It enters into some verbs signifying to breathe; as, Greek &w, 
Latin halo, halare. 

3. As the first and leading vowel, it is used where no reason ex- 
ists for any special vowel. Hence it is found, as stated above, in a 
large proportion of Indo-European roots, in the technical names of 
the letters in Sanscrit, &c. 

II. The Extreme Vowels u and i. 

U, the lowest sound in the scale of vowels, is produced deep in 
the breast. Hence, 

1. It expresses low and obscure sounds ; as, Greek fiopfiypG), Latin 
murmuro, Russian murtshu, German murren, English murmur ; Greek 
Iivl,g), Latin mutio, musso, English mutter ; Dutch grommelen, English 
grumble ; Danish grum, English grum, Welsh grwm ; Greek ypv^a), 
Old Latin grundio, German grunzen, English grunt. 

2. It expresses the red in color (for what reason does not appear) ; 
as, Greek epvdpoq, Txvppoq, rcopcfivpa ; Latin ruber, rufus, purpura ; Ger- 
man roth, Anglo-Saxon rude, English ruddy, Welsh rhuz, Armorican 
ruz, Latin russus, rutilus, French roux. 

I, the highest sound in the scale of vowels, is produced high in 
the throat. Hence, 

1. It expresses whatever is clear, shrill, bright, or small; as, 
Sanscrit didhL to shine ; Latin viridis ; Greek fimpoc. 

2. It expresses the white in color (for what reason does not ap- 
pear) ; as, Prussian sipid, white ; Latin lilium. 

III. The Mixed Vowels o and e. 
The o, which is formed from a and u, and the e, which is formed 



184 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

from a and i, partake of the import of the vowels whence they orig- 
inate. 



Note. — The force of the vowels may be best exhibited in words 
which differ only in their vowels ; as, Greek Kpu^G), Kpd^o, Kpi^u) ; 
fiatcpog and fitKpog ; aXaXdfa and iXeXi^o) ; Latin cachinnor, to laugh 
aloud, and German kichern, to titter ; English ball and pill, both from 
Latin pila; English gloom and gleam ; flame and fiimmer ; shake and 
shiver ; quake and quiver ; juggle, gaggle, giggle ; cluck, clack, click ; 
croak, crack, creak ; French gronder and grincer* 

In passing to the consonants, we observe that the strong or weak 
consonants naturally denote strength or weakness respectively, and 
that the consonant of a particular organ of speech usually enters into 
the name of that organ. 

IV. The Breathing or Aspiration h. 

The letter h, or the breathing, is naturally adapted to express a 
breathing, or whatever occasions it, an aspiration for something, or 
whatever occasions it ; as, Latin halo, to breathe \ Sanscrit ilia, de- 
sire ; Zendish honover, desire ; also, many Hebrew roots, formed with 
hhav, hav, and av, Latin aveo, which primarily denote breathing. 

V. Tlie Semi-Vowels w and y. 

These letters, from their extreme weakness, are naturally adapted 
to express weakness, gentle motion, and kindred ideas ; as, Latin vado 
(compare German waten, English wade) ; veho (compare German 
wegen in bewegen, English wag, weigh, wagon, wain, way, wave) ; vac- 
illo (compare German wackeln, English waggle) ; verto (compare Lat- 
in versus, German -warts, English -wards) ; volvo (compare German 
walzcn, English wallow, welter); German viallen, to spring up (whence 
English well) ; wandern (English wander) ; wehen, to blow (compare 
Latin ventus, English wind) ; wenden, to turn (English wend, past 
went) ; winden (English wind) ; weichen, to yield , wiihlen, to stir. So 
w, when preceded by s or sh. See below. 

The Hebrew employs y initial where the Arabic has w, and the 
Teutonic uses w initial in the interrogative where the Sanscrit has 
y. Hence these semi-vowels can not greatly differ in their import. 

VI. The Liquids 1 and r. 

These liquids are naturally opposed to each other, as si^jloth and 
rough. In some languages, as the Sanscrit, they constitute vowels. 



THE NATURAL SIGNIFICANGY OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS. 185 

1. The smooth liquid I occurs in the name of the organ which is 
employed in its enunciation ; as, Latin lingua. 

2. It occurs in the name of actions in which the tongue is princi- 
pally concerned; as, Greek Xateco (compare Latin lallo, German 
fatten, English loll, Welsh llolian) ; Mttto) (Latin lambo, Danish labe, 
English lap, Welsh Uepiaw, lleibiaw) ; Xacpvooio, helped (Sanscrit lih, 
Latin lingo, ligurio, Lithuanian lezu, Russian lizhu, German lecken, 
English lick, Irish lighim) ; Xrjped) ; Xoidopeo) ; Xv^O) ; Xuddfa. 

3. It expresses whatever is soft or soothing ; as, Greek Xavo), Xeioc 
(Latin levis), Xevpog, Xiapog, Xirrd^o), Xovg) (Latin luo, lavo). 

4. L final, in nouns, forms diminutives ; as, Greek epurvXog, a 
little lover, from tpuc ; Latin scutulum, a little shield, from scutum ; 
German bundel, from bund, English bundle, from bond ; Latin sacculus, 
from saccus, German sdckel, from sack, English satchel or sachel, from 
sack. In verbs it expresses a repetition of little actions ; as, Latin 
cantillo, from canto ; German betteln, from beten ; English prattle, from 
prate; tingle, from ting; tinkle, from tink; crackle, from crack; twinkle, 
from twink. 

The rough liquid r has the following functions, either alone, or 
preceded by k or g : 

1. It denotes rattling or broken sounds ; as, Greek Kpt^o), Kporeo), 
Kpovo) ; English croak, crack, creak, crash, rattle. 

2. It denotes interrupted or distorted motion; as, German, rad, 
krumm ; English ring, rind, round, cramp, crook, crown, gripe, grasp, 
grapple. So wr. See below. 

VII. The Nasals m, n, and ng. 

The nasals m and n are employed to express negation, being the 
natural sounds to express refusal ; as, Sanscrit md, Greek \ir\, lest ; 
Sanscrit na, Persian neh, Greek ve (in vrjrriog), Latin ne (in non, 
nemo), German ne (in nicht, nein), English ne (in not, none), Lithua- 
nian ne, Russian ne, Irish na, ni, Welsh na, ni, not. 

The labial nasal m is one of the earliest sounds of infants, being 
formed by their practiced lips, and is used, 

1. To express the mother or nurse, on account of their objective 
importance to the child ; as, Hebrew em, English ma, &c, mother ; 
German amme, nurse. 

2. To express the pronoun of the first person, on account of its 
subjective importance to every one ; as, Sanscrit mam, Greek fie, 
Latin me, English me, he. 

3. To express one of the most important mental operations ; as, 
Sanscrit man, Greek fi7]vvo), Latin moneo, memini, German mahnen, 
meinen, English mean (compare Latin mens, English mind). 



186 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

The lingual nasal n occurs in the name of the organ concerned ; 
as, Latin nasus, English nose. 

VIII. The Dentals s, sh, z, and zh. 

The name sibilants given to this class of letters sufficiently indi- 
cates their import ; compare Latin sibilo. 

Ss final denotes sharp sounds; as, English hiss, siss, whisper, 
whistle. 

Z final denotes sounds less sharp ; as, English whiz, buzz. 

Sh final denotes silence; as, hush; also, sounds or sights which 
break off suddenly ; as, English clash, crash, flash, splash. 

Sh initial expresses aversion ; as, German scheu, English shy ; En- 
glish pshaw; shogh. 

IX. The Palatal Mutes c or k, g, kh, and gh. 

The import of the palatals is the least definite. Yet the atonic k 
is justly supposed to have a natural appropriateness to perform the 
function of an interrogative; as, Sanscrit has, Greek hoc. (whence 
Korepog), Latin quis, Mceso-Gothic hwas, Lithuanian kas, Russian koi, 
Gaelic co, who ? A palatal is also found in words denoting hollow- 
ness and holding ; as, Greek fcoiXog (whence Latin caelum) ; Latin 
cavus, capio. 

X. The Lingual Mutes t, d, th, and dh. 

1 . The lingual, whether atonic or subtonic, has a natural adapt- 
edness to perform the function of a demonstrative ; as, Sanscrit tat, 
it, tataras, one of two ; Greek to, tovto, toooc, roTog, &c. ; Latin 
tantus, tot, talis, &c. ; Lithuanian tas, ta, to, that ; Gothic thata, that; 
German der, die, das, this ; English that, this, &c. 

2. The lingual is also found in three families of words, very ex- 
tensively diffused through the Indo-European languages, each of 
which has the general import of pointing or demonstrating ; as, (1.) 
Sanscrit tan, Greek ravva), reivo), Latin teneo, tendo, German dehnen, 
Russian tianu, English tend. (2.) Sanscrit dis', Greek Seiko), Latin 
dico, doceo, German zeigen, Irish teagasgaim, English teach. (3.) San- 
scrit da, Greek 66g), 6c6o)[jli, Latin do, Lithuanian dumi, Russian daiu, 
to give. 

XI. The Labial Mutes p, b, ph, and v. 

1. The labials, from the ease with which they are enounced, have 
been employed to denote the first objects which interest the child ; 
as, Sanscrit pitar, Zendish paitar, Persian padar, Greek nd~7]p, Latin 



THE NATURAL SIGNIFICANCY OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS. 187 

pater, Russian batia, German vater, English father, Turkish peder ; 
also, English papa. 

2. They denote fullness or extension, from their swelling the 
cheeks ; as, Greek ttXeoc, irXr\p7]c, Latin pleo, plenus, German fullen, 
voll, ~Eng\ish fll, full. 

3. They also express aversion, from their puffing or blowing ; as, 
Arabic uffu, Greek (f>ev, Latin phy, English^, poh. 

XII. The Mixed Consonants tsh and dzh. 

These consonants are introduced here for the sake of showing the 
difference between the physiological and the etymological develop- 
ment of sounds. 

Tsh in English (where it is expressed by ch) is not an original 
sound, but has arisen, in the mutation of languages, from other 
sounds ; as, chaff, from Anglo-Saxon ceaf; chalice, from Latin calix ; 
change, from French changer ; cheek, from Anglo-Saxon ceac ; cherry, 
from Latin cerasus ; cherish, from French cherir ; child, from Anglo- 
Saxon did; chief, from French chef; chimney, from Latin caminus ; 
choose, from Anglo-Saxon ceosan ; chuck, from French choquer ; church, 
from Anglo-Saxon circ. So tsh in Italian (where it is expressed by 
c before e and i) has arisen from the Latin c ; as, Cicero (pronounced 
tshitshero), from Latin Cicero (pronounced kikero). Hence we have 
no occasion to investigate the import of tsh in modern languages. 
Its meaning, as an original sound in ancient Sanscrit, lies too remote 
for our present purpose. 

Dzh in English, so far as it is expressed by g, is derived from the 
Latin g, which had a hard sound ; and, so far as it is expressed by 
j, is derived from the Latin j, and ultimately from the Sanscrit y. 
Hence all inquiry as to the import of our modern dzh is superseded. 

XIII. Consonants in Combination. 

We shall perceive the natural force of the letters to better advant- 
age by taking some of them in combination. 

Bl and/ denote blowing, blooming, and flowing ; as, Latin flo, Ger- 
man blahen, blasen, English blow, blaze, blast, bluster, blister, bladder ; 
Greek <p\6oc, Latin flos,floreo, German bluhen, bluthe, bloom, English 
flower, flourish, bloom, blossom ; Greek <j>X£(d, (fiXiu, (pXvo, h&tmfluo, 
German fliessen, fluth, English flow, flood; Latin fleo, to weep. 

CI or kl denotes cleaving or adhering ; as, English cleave, clay (ad- 
hesive earth), cling, clinch, clutch, climb (whence clamber), clot (whence 
clod), clasp. 

Cr or kr. See the force of the letter r, above. 



188 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

Gl denotes smoothness or silent motion ; as, English glib, glide. 

Gn, jn, or kn denotes a sudden breaking off; as, Sanscrit janus, 
Greek yovv, Latin genu, German hue, English knee; Latin janua, a 
break in a wall. 

Gr. See the force of the letter r, above. 

Kn. See gn, above. 

Shio and sw denote gentle motion (compare the force of the letter 
w, above) ; as, German schwellen, schwimmen, schwingen ; English 
sway, swagger, sweep, swerve, swell, swine, swing. 

SI denotes smoothness or silent motion ; as, slide, slip, slime, sleight, 
sly. 

Sn denotes ideas relating to the nose (compare the force of the let- 
ter n, above) ; as, English snarl, sneer, sneeze, snicker, snivel, snore, 
snort, snout, snuff, snuffle. 

Spr denotes a spreading out ; as, English spread, sprain, sprawl, 
spring, sprinkle. 

St denotes firmness or stability ; as, English stable, staff, stake, 
stalk, stall, stand, stay, steady, stem, stick, stiff, stock, stout, stub, stub- 
ble, stubborn, stump, sturdy. 

Str seems to denote exertion ; as, English strain, strenuous, stress, 
strike (whence stroke, streak), strip (whence strap, stripe), strive 
(whence strife), string, strong (whence strength), strict, strait, straight, 
stretch, struggle. 

Thr denotes violent motion ; as, English throw, thrust, throng, throb. 

Tw is found in a large class of English words connected with the 
number two. 

Wr evidently denotes distorted motion (compare the force of the 
letter r, above) ; as, English wrap, wreck (whence ivrack), wrest 
(whence wrist, wrestle), wrig (whence wriggle), wring (whence wrongs 
wrangle, wrench), wrinkle, writhe (whence wreath, writhle, wry). 

We forbear to add more, hoping that what we have said will be 
sufficient to support our position, that language is not entirely arbitra- 
ry or conventional, but, on the contrary, articulate sounds have a natural 
adaptedness to express specific ideas. 



ORTHOEPY. 189 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ORTHOEPY. 

§ 168. Orthoepy is a word derived from the Greek dpdbg, 
right, and inog, a word, and signifies the correct utterance of 
words. It bears the same relation to the ear which orthography 
does to the eye. It deals in audible signs of what is passing in 
the mind of the speaker, as the latter does in visible signs of 
what has been uttered by the voice. The two influence each 
other. A vicious orthography, says Quintilian, must bring on 
a vicious pronunciation. Quod male scribitur, male etiam dici 
necesse est. In turn, the visible form of language naturally ac- 
commodates to the pronunciation, whether right or wrong. 

ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO THE PHONETIC ELE- 
MENTS. 

§ 169. "What the Phonetic Elements are, and how many, we 
have already seen in previous chapters. Now a correct utter- 
ance of these elements separately and in combination is, in re- 
spect to them, Orthoepy. This is only an exhibition of the ele- 
ments which a phonetic analysis of the language has developed, 
and is called Articulation. 

1. One error on this point in pronouncing a word is the omis- 
sion of an element which belongs to it, as when one says caad 
for card, pr-vail for pr-evail. In the first case, the twentieth, 
in the second, the fifth element, is omitted. See table, p. 145. 

2. A second error is the introduction of an element not be- 
longing to the word, as drownded for drowned, ceow for cow. 
In the first case, the twenty-eighth tabular element is intro- 
duced ; in the second, the fifth. 

3. A third error is the substitution of one element for anoth- 
er, as think-in for think-ing, srinks for shrinks. In the first 
case, the eighteenth element is substituted for the sixteenth; 
in the second, the thirty-first is substituted for the thirty-third. 

4. A fourth error is the substitution of an obscure sound for 



190 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

a distinct element ; as when one says what approaches up-pin- 
ion for o-pinion, or what approaches par-tic-e-lar for par-tic- 
u-lar. In the first case, an obscure sound is substituted for the 
eighth element ; in the second, an obscure sound is substituted 
for the thirty-sixth. 

ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO SYLLABICATION. 

§ 170. What are the principles of syllabication we have seen 
in a previous chapter. Now an utterance of a syllable, or the 
syllables of a word in accordance with these principles, is, in 
respect to them, Orthoepy. 

1. One error in respect to syllabication is the taking of an el- 
ement from the syllable of a word where it belongs, and placing 
it in the syllable, of another word ; as to say " a nice house" 
instead of " an ice house ;" " that lasts till night 11 for " that 
last still night 11 

2. A second error is the taking of an element from the sylla- 
ble of a word where it belongs, and placing it in another sylla- 
ble of the same word ; as when one says pre-face for pref-ace. 

3. A third error is the suppressing of a syllable which belongs 
to a word ; as to pronounce the adjective learned in one sylla- 
ble instead of learn-ed. 

4. A fourth error in syllabication is the adding of a syllable 
to a word which does not belong to it ; as to pronounce parlia- 
ment in four syllables, as parl-i-a-ment, instead of in three syl- 
lables, parl-e-ment. 

ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO ACCENT. 

§ 171. What are the principles of English Accent we have 
seen in a previous chapter. A correct application of those prin- 
ciples to practice in the utterance of words and syllables, is, in 
respect to them, Orthoepy. 

1. One error in accentuation is to accent a verb like a noun 
merely because they are spelled alike ; as to pronounce to sur- 
vey' like a sur'vey, to attrib'ute like an aV tribute. See § 147. 

2. A second error is to overlook the derivation of words, and 
to accentuate from an ancient or a foreign" language, as if it 
were derived from the Anglo-Saxon ; as to place the accent on 
dissyllables like balloon', romance', on the first syllable, instead 
of on the last syllable, where it belongs. 



ORTHOEPY. 191 



ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO QUANTITY. 

§ 172. What are the principles of English Quantity we have 
seen in a previous chapter. A correct application of these prin- 
ciples in the utterance of words and syllables is a part of ortho- 
epy. To say hay' -bit and soob'-ject instead of hab-it and sub- 
ject is to err in respect to quantity. To say or a' -tor instead of 
or'ator, theaftre instead of the'atre, is an error in respect to 
quantity, as it is also in respect to accent. See § 150. 

PRONUNCIATION. 

§ 173. Pronunciation, Latin pronunciation the utterance of 
speech, is a generic term, including under it the articulation of 
the phonetic elements, syllabication, accent, quantity. If the 
pronunciation is erroneous, or if it is correct, it is, as we have 
just said, erroneous or correct rh some of these particulars. 

CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF INCORRECT PRONUNCI- 
ATION. 

§ 174. 1. Defective organs of speech. If, for instance, the 
lips are defective, the labial elements can not be pronounced, as 
in model, ballast. 

2. A bad ear. "When the ear can not discriminate between 
two sounds, it can not be expected that the voice will exhibit 
the distinction between them, as, for instance, the distinction of 
sound between the first syllable of mercy and of merry. 

3. Bad models. Children who have before them bad models 
will, by imitation, adopt them into their own pronunciation, 
In this way the pronunciation of whole communities is in- 
jured. 

4. Bad habits. Habits formed in childhood often continue 
through life. Thus one person, though often corrected, contin- 
ued through life to say suthing instead of something-. 

5. A bad condition of the mind. "When the mind is sluggish 
there will be an indistinct utterance. When the mind is flut- 
tered and disturbed, a stammering and confused utterance will 
be the result. 

6. Dwelling on the vocalic to the neglect of the consonantal 
elements. This is done in the mode of speaking and reading 



192 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

called sing-song. Indistinctness in the enunciation of the con- 
sonantal elements is the consequence. 

7. Rapid reading or speaking. The organs taxed in this way 
beyond their power necessarily slur over or drop certain sounds. 

8. A mistake as to the language to which a word belongs. 
If one considers the word anemone as still belonging to the 
Greek, or the word orator as still belonging to the Latin, he will 
pronounce the first anemb'ne, the Greek word avt\iu>vr\ being 
thus pronounced, and the second he will pronounce ord'tor, be- 
cause it is thus pronounced in the Latin language. Both of 
these words have in fact become English, and should be pro- 
nounced, the one anem'-one and the other or'ator. "While a 
word is a foreign word, it should be treated as a stranger, and as 
subject to the laws of the language of its own country ; but 
when it has become naturalized, its foreign aspect and accent 
should be laid aside. In orthography and orthoepy it should 
conform to the laws of the English language. 

9. Mistake as to the true pronunciation of a word in a given 
language, after it has been ascertained to belong to that lan- 
guage. Thus, to know that the word debris is a French word, 
and yet to pronounce it de'briss, implies an ignorance of the true 
pronunciation in the French language. 

10. The neglect of analogy. This is closely connected with 
the last. Though there are great irregularities in the language, 
and much that seems capricious and arbitrary, still there are 
analogies which give laws to its pronunciation. Thus, in words 
of two syllables, the law of analogy requires that the accent 
should fall on the penult, and that in words of three syllables 
the accent should be on the antepenult. See § 149, 150. 

11. Bad spelling. "When the phonetic elements of a word 
are not well represented by the alphabetic characters, the true 
sound can not be ascertained from the written form, and, at the 
same time, the false spelling leads directly to a false pronuncia- 
tion of the word. 

DOUBTFUL ORTHOEPY. 

§ 175. In the language there are many words of doubtful or- 
thoepy, which can be settled only by an appeal to considerations 
referred to in the last article. In a given case it becomes nee- 



ORTHOEPY. 193 

essary to determine the comparative value of some of these con- 
siderations. 

1. For instance, the word demonstrate is one of doubtful or- 
thoepy. Use is divided, the masses inclining to accent the an- 
tepenult (dem / -on-strate), and the few inclining to accent the 
penult (demonstrate). Authorities are divided. Latin analogy 
favors the last, demon' str ate ; English analogy justifies the first, 
demonstrate. There is a class of words in the same category. 

2. The word azure is of doubtful orthoepy. At least, use is 
divided and authorities are divided. An argument in favor of 
pronouncing it az'-ure, and not a'-zure, is, that it thus conforms 
to the French, from which it is derived. This sound is, of the 
two, the more euphonious. 

3. The word either is of doubtful orthoepy. The fashionable 
people of England generally say ei'-ther. The several classes in 
the United States more generally say e'i-ther. Here we have 
to compare the value of use in one country with the value of 
use in another country. What will help to settle the pronunci- 
ation is that the word comes from the Anglo-Saxon cegther, in 
the first syllable of which was the sound of e and not that of i. 

4. The word wound is of doubtful orthoepy. "We have heard 
it stated, on the authority of the celebrated Dr. Johnson, of Strat- 
ford, Connecticut, that the pronunciation of this word as if 
spelled woond was a provincialism until Lord Chatham, in the 
height of his popularity, used it in the enthusiasm of debate, 
whether by mistake or not, and thus gave it currency, first on 
the stage, and then among the people. This pronunciation of 
ivoond for wound is contrary to analogy and common use on the 
one hand, and has the authority of some lexicographers and of 
partial use on the other. 

5. Ease of Pronunciation. — Upon this ground the words ac- 
ceptable and accept' ableness should be accented as here mark- 
ed, and not on the first syllables, according to the incorrect no- 
tation of Walker. 

6. Satisfaction to the Ear. — Other things being equal, 
sounds, either simple or combined, which are agreeable to the 
ear, are to be preferred to others. For this reason, if for no oth- 
er, the accent on the second syllable of the word inquiry is pref- 
erable to the accent on the first, as sometimes heard. 

N 



194 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

7. Influence of the Written Language. — When a language 
which has existed only in sounds is about to become a written 
language, the object aimed at is to adopt such a system of spell- 
ing as shall exactly represent those sounds, and the system is 
regarded as correct or faulty just in proportion as it accomplishes 
this or fails to do it. But after a system of orthography is es- 
tablished, and the language has assumed its external form, not 
only does the orthography accommodate itself to the pronuncia- 
tion, but the pronunciation is modified by accommodating itself 
to the orthography. This is especially the fact where the great 
mass of the people are readers, and get their pronunciation of 
many words from books, by consulting the power of the letters, 
rather than from conversation. It is believed that in the United 
States, where most of the inhabitants get their pronunciation 
from books as well as from the ear, the spoken language is made 
to conform more nearly to the written language than it does in 
Great Britain. 

For an application of these rules and principles to the correct 
pronunciation of the words in the English language, and to the 
graceful pronunciation of this language in continuous discourse, 
see Pronouncing Dictionaries, such as Webster's and Worces- 
ter's, and the current works on Elocution. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER VIII. 

1. What is the derivation and meaning of orthoepy ? 

2. What relations does it bear compared with orthography 1 

3. What is their influence on each other ? 

4. Mention the four errors in orthoepy in respect to the phonetic elements. 

5. Mention the four errors in orthoepy in respect to syllabication. 

6. Mention the two errors in orthoepy in respect to accent. 

7. Mention an error in orthoepy in respect to quantity. 

8. What is pronunciation, and what is included under it ? 

9. Mention some of the causes and conditions of incorrect pronunciation. 

10. What can you say with respect to the pronunciation of demonstrate f 
Of azure? Of either? Of wound? Of acceptable? Of inquiry? 

11. What can you say of the influence of the written language on pronun- 
ciation ? 



ORTHOEPY. 195 



EXERCISES UNDER PART II. 

PHONETIC ANALYSIS. 

§ 176. By Phonetic Analysis is meant that process by which 
each phonetic element is separated from its combination with 
other sounds in words, and referred to the table (§ 118) for its 
description. It thus resolves the combined or compound sounds 
of an entire word into the elementary sounds of which it is com- 
posed, and exhibits each by itself. 

In the analysis no notice is taken of the obscure sounds, such, 
for instance, as those represented by a in rival, e in brier, i in 
ruin, o in actor, u in the last syllable of sulphur, and y in envy, 
Only the distinct sounds are noticed. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. In science, reason is the guide ; in poetry, taste. The ob- 
ject of the one is truth, which is uniform and indivisible ; the 
object of the other is beauty, which is multiform and varied. — ■ 
Colton. 

The first element is that represented by * in fit (No. 7, table 
§ 118) ; the next, that represented by n in not (No. 18) ; the 
next, that represented by s in sin (31). (The letter c here rep- 
resents no element.) The next, that represented by i in fine 
(35) ; the next, that represented by e in met (6) ; the next, that 
represented by n in not (18) ; the next, that represented by s in 
sin (31). (The letter e here represents no element.) The next, 
that represented by r in run (31) ; the next, that represented by 
e in mete (5) ; the next, that represented by z in zed (32) ; the 
next, that represented by n in not (18) ; the next, that repre- 
sented by i in fit (7) ; the next, that represented by z in zed 
(32) ; the next, that represented by th in thine (26) ; the next, 
that represented by e in mete (5) ; the next, that represented by 
g in gun (30). (The letter u here represents no element.) The 
next, that represented by i in fine (35) ; the next, that repre- 
sented by d in din (28). (The letter e here represents no ele- 
ment.) The learner is expected to analyze the remainder of 
the sentence in like manner. 



196 PHONETIC ELEMENTS. 

2. High on a throne of royal state, which far 

Outshone the wealth of Orraus or of Ind, 
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand 
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, 
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised 
To that bad eminence. — Milton. 

The first element is that represented by h in hot ; the next 
is that represented by i in fine. (The letters gh represent no ele- 
ment.) The next is that represented by o in not ; the next is 
that represented by n in not ; the next is that represented by a 
in fate ; the next is that represented by th in thin ; the next 
is that represented by r in run ; the next is that represented by 
o in note ; the next is that represented by n in not. (The e in 
throne represents no element.) The next is that represented by 
o in not ; the next is that represented by v in van ; the next 
is that represented by r in run; the next is the diphthongal 
sound represented by oi in voice ; the next is that represented 
by a in fat ; the next is that represented by I in let ; the next 
is that represented by s in sin ; the next is that represented by 
t in tin ; the next is that represented by a in fate ; the next is 
that represented by t in tin. (The letter e represents no element.) 
The next is that represented by w in wet ; the next is that rep- 
resented by h in hot. (These last two elements are inverted in 
the pronunciation.) The next is that represented by i in fit ; the 
next is that represented by ch in chest. The learner is expected 
to analyze the remainder of the passage in like manner. 

3. Analyze the following passage, and state, 

(1) Which are the surd and which are the sonant elements. 

(2) Which are explosive and which are continuous. 

(3) Which are cognate ; which are liquid ; which are labial ; 
which are dental ; which are guttural or palatal ; which are 
nasal ; which are cerebral. 

(4) Which are syllables. 

(5) Which are the accented and which are the unaccented 
syllables. 

(6) What are the quantities of the accented syllables. 

Costly apparatus and splendid cabinets have no magical pow- 
er to make scholars. In all circumstances, as a man is, under 
(rod, the master of his own fortune, so is he the maker of his 
own mind. The Creator has so constituted the human intellect 



ORTHOEPY. 197 

that it can only grow from its own action, and by its own action 
and free will it will certainly and necessarily grow. Every 
man, therefore, must educate himself. His book and teacher 
are but helps ; the work is his. — Daniel Webster. 

synthesis. 

1. Compose a sentence in which there shall be surd elements 
and sonant elements, and in which there shall be at least one 
pair of cognate elements. 

2. Compose a sentence in which there shall be explosive ele- 
ments and continuous elements. 

3. Compose a sentence in which there shall be at least one 
labial, one dental, one guttural, one nasal, one cerebral. 

4. Compose a sentence in which there shall be at least one 
monosyllable, one dissyllable, one trisyllable, one polysyllable. 

5. Compose a sentence in which there is at least one word 
with the radical, one with the terminational, and one with the 
distinctive accent. 

6. Compose a sentence, or several sentences, in which there 
shall be a word having the accent on the last syllable ; and a 
word having the accent on the penult ; and a word having the 
accent on the antepenult ; and a word having the accent on the 
syllable before the antepenult ; and a word having a secondary 
accent. 

7. Compose a sentence, or several sentences, in which there 
shall be the long sound of a and the short sound ; the long sound 
of e and the short sound ; the long sound of i and the short 
sound ; the long sound of o and the short sound ; the long sound 
of u and the short sound. 

■ 

In this Second Part have been exhibited the Phonetic Ele- 
ments of the English language, both separately and in their com- 
binations in "Words and Syllables. Words and Syllables have 
been exhibited under the laws of Accent, and Quantity, and 
Euphony. The Natural Significance of Articulate Sounds has 
also been distinctly set forth. 

We are now, therefore, prepared to examine the Written or 
Orthographical Forms in which these Phonetic Elements are 
expressed to the eye in a literal Notation. 



PART III. 

ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE RELATIONS OF ORTHOGRAPHY TO ORTHOEPY. 



DEFINITIONS. 

§ 177. Orthography is a term derived from the Greek word 
opdog, right, and ypcujyrj, writing. It means the correct writ- 
ing or spelling of words by means of letters. 

Orthographical forms are those combinations of letters in 
the written language which represent to the eye the sounds 
which are expressed by the voice in the spoken language. 

the priority of orthoepy. 

§ 178. In the order of nature and time, the spoken language 
must exist before the written language. In the same order. Or- 
thoepy takes precedence of Orthography. In the early stages of 
a language, the end aimed at by orthography is to represent to 
the eye, in visible marks, what orthoepy has already represented 
to the ear in audible signs. In the later stages of a language, 
the orthography governs the orthoepy, bringing out the sounds 
of the letters which were once only silent or modified. The let- 
ters of the alphabet, in their original and legitimate use, are the 
elements of the written language, employed to express the ele- 
ments of the spoken language. 

a perfect system of literal notation. 

§ 179. In a perfect system of notation by letters, the chief 
conditions are as follows : 

1. Every phonetic element should have its own sign or letter. 

2. A sign or letter appropriated to one phonetic element 
should never be employed to represent another. 

3. Phonetic elements resembling each other should be repre- 
sented by signs or letters resembling each other. Thus the 



200 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

sounds represented by the letters b and p resemble each other, 
and the letters themselves resemble each other. 

4. Phonetic elements differing from each other should be rep- 
resented by letters differing from each other. Thus the sounds 
represented by i and o differ widely from each other, and the 
letters also differ widely in form. 

The first of these conditions will prevent a deficient notation ; 
the second, a confused one; and the four taken together will 
make the body of sounds and their representatives collectively 
commensurate with each other. 

THE OBJECT OF A LITERAL NOTATION. 

§ 180. "'The purpose of a literal notation is to convey to the 
mind, by the agency of the eye, that which living speech communi- 
cates by means of the ear ; it is, as it has often been expressed, to 
render sounds visible. As there is not any natural connection be- 
tween forms and sounds, this combination must be originally the 
work of arbitrary assignment, and, previously to any compact for this 
purpose, any character may stand for any sound. Yet, even in ar- 
bitrary appointment, if we would avoid confusion, we must submit 
to certain rules; and, to render a system of literal notation com- 
pletely perfect, the following circumstances are required: 1. That 
every articulate sound should have its own fixed and indisputable rep- 
resentative. 2. That a character appropriated to one sound should 
never be employed to represent another." — Ware's Orthoepy , Preface. 

Probably no Alphabetic System whatever answers all the con- 
ditions mentioned in the last section. The Sanscrit is often men- 
tioned as approximating the nearest to a perfect notation of the 
sound system of the language. The alphabetic characters usu- 
ally employed in writing Sanscrit are called Devanagari, sig- 
nifying the Alphabet of " the city of the gods," from nagara y 
a city, and Deva (Deus), a god. The number of the letters is 
about fifty. The permutations to which Sanscrit is subjected in 
conformity with the laws of Euphony are very numerous. These 
extend even to Syntax, in changing the final and even the initial 
letters, in order that they may be adapted to the sounds. Com- 
pared With the Alphabetical Sounds of other languages, taking 
articulation for articulation and value for value, there are ten 
sounds less in Russian than in Sanscrit, twelve less in Greek, 
fifteen less in German, and eighteen less in Latin. 



THE RELATIONS OF ORTHOGRAPHY TO ORTHOEPY. 201 

§181. THE ENGLISH AND OTHER ALPHABETS. 



Roman. 


Italic. 


Old 


English. 


Anglo- 
Saxon. 






Greek. 


A a 


A a 


% 


a 


a 


X 


a 


A 


a 




Alpha. 


B b 


B h 


B 


b 


be 


B 


b 


B 


/3 


6 


Beta. 


C c 


C c 


€ 


r 


ce 


E 


c 


r 


r 


F 


Gamma. 


D d 


D d 


m 


b 


de 


D 


b 


A 


(5 




Delta. 


E e 


E e 


€ 


c 


e 


e 


e 


E 


e 




Epsilon. 


F f 


F f 


i 


f 


ef 


F 


F 


Z 


'« 


I 


Zeta. 


<* g 


a g 


(3 





je 


Z 


3 


H 


? 




Eta. 


H h 


H h 


« 


(, (he or 
i V ( aitch 


h 


h 





e 





Theta. 


I i 


I i 


1 


si 


i 


I 


i 


I 


i 




Iota. 


J J 


J J 




J a 














K k 


K k 


it 


k 


ka 


K 


k 


K 


K 




Kappa. 


L 1 


L I 


t 


I 


el 


L 


1 


A 


X 




Lambda. 


M m 


M m 


m 


m 


em 


CD 


m 


M 


p 




Mu. 


N n 


N n 


$r 


n 


en 


N 


n 


N 


V 




Nu. 


o 


o 


® 














2 


1 




Xi. 


P p 


P p 


9 


V 


pe 


P 


P 










Omicron. 


ft q 


Q q 


(fa 


4 


cu 


ft 


q 


n 


7T 


CT 


Pi. 


R r 


R r 


m 


r 


ar 


R 


P 


p 


P 


P 


Rho. 


S s 


S s 


s 


6 


es 


8 


r 


2 


(7 


? 


Sigma. 


T t 


T t 


& 


t 


te 


T 


c 


T 


r 




Tau. 


U u 


U u 


ft 


n 


u 


U 


u 


r 


u 




Upsilon. 


V v 


V v 


b 


V 


ve 






$ 







Phi. 


W w 


W w 


to 


m 


00 


P 


p 


X 


a; 




Chi. 


X x 


X x 


X 


% 


eks 


X 


X 


* 


V> 




Psi. 


y y 


Y y 


8 


n 


wi or ye 


Y 


y 


rz 


GJ 




Omega. 


Z z 


Z z 


2 


? 


ze or zed Z 


z 


















(*: 


)B$Pj> 











The Roman and the Italian alphabetic characters are used to ex- 
press the phonetic elements of the English language. By compar- 
ing this alphabet, consisting of twenty-six letters, presented to the 
eye, with the forty sounds, simple and compound, in the table 
(§ 118), presented to the ear, it is evident that it does not include 
the first condition mentioned above of a perfect system of notation. 
Neither does it include the second, third, or fourth. See § 179. 



202 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ELEMENTARY SIGNS. 

§ 182. Letters, from the Latin litera, a mark, through the 
French lettre, are the signs or representatives of the phonetic 
elements or the elementary sounds. They are classified by the 
same names as the sounds themselves, viz., Yowels and Conso- 
nants. They are the first elements of the written language, as 
the simple sounds are of the spoken language. 

It should be constantly borne in mind that the names of the 
letters are not the same as the elementary sounds which they 
represent. Thus the name of the letter m does not enter as an 
element into the word man when pronounced, but another sound 
which it represents does. It is true that some of the name 
sounds of the vowel letters are the same as the elementary 
sounds which they represent. Thus the name sound of the let- 
ter a is the same as the sound which it represents in the word 
fate ; but it is not the same as that which it represents in all, 
father, fat, as may be shown by isolating the sound. 

The Yowels, that is, the vowel letters, are a, e, i, o, u, and 
sometimes w and y. A, o, u, and w represent the broad vowel 
sounds ; e, i, and y the small vowel sounds. 

The Consonants, that is, the consonant letters, are p b, f v, 
t d, k g, s z ; h ; I, m, n, r ; j, c, q, x, and sometimes w and 
y. Here we have, first, the representatives of the Cognate 
sounds ; then the Aspirate h ; thirdly, the Liquids, /, m, n, r ; 
finally, the Double letter j, with the Redundant signs c, q, 
and x. 

The Consonants, likewise, have been classified according to 
the organs by which they are produced, whether chiefly by the 
lips, the teeth, or the palate. B,p,f, v, and m have been called 
Labials. D, t, s, z, j, g when equivalent to j, and c when 
equivalent to 5, Dentals. K, g, r, I, q, and c when equivalent 
to k, Palatals. They are also called Gutturals. 

S and z are also called Sibilants, from the hissing noise at- 
tending their production. M and n are also called Nasals, from 
their relation to the nose. L and r are sometimes called Lin- 
guals. T, d, and n are sometimes called Cerebrals. 

A Diphthong is two vowel letters joined in one syllable, as ea 
in eagle, oi in voice. 



THE RELATIONS OF ORTHOGRAPHY TO ORTHOEPY. 203 

1. A Proper Diphthong is a diphthong in which both of the 
vowels are sounded, as oi in voice. 

2. An Improper Diphthong, or Digraph, is a diphthong in 
which only one of the vowels is sounded, as ea in beat. 

A Triphthong, or Trigraph, is three vowel letters joined in 
one syllable, as eau in beau, uoy in buoy. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER I. 

1. What is the meaning and derivation of the term orthography? 

2. What are orthographical forms ? 

3. Which, in the order of nature and time, comes first, orthoepy or orthog- 
raphy ? 

4. What is the end aimed at by orthography in the early stages of a lan- 
guage ? 

5. In the later stages of a language, what is the influence of orthography? 

6. What are the chief conditions of a perfect system of literal notation? 

7. What is the end aimed at by a literal notation ? 

8. What is said of the alphabetic system of the Sanscrit language ? 

9. What is the number of letters in the English alphabet? 

10. What is the number of sounds in the table of elementary and compound 
sounds ? 

11. Does the English alphabet meet the conditions of a perfect system of 
literal notation mentioned in section 179 ? 

12. What are letters, and what is the derivation of the term? 

13. Into what classes are letters divided ? 

14. Are the names of letters, and the elementary sounds which they repre- 
sent, the same? 

15. Illustrate the difference between the names of the letters and the 
sounds. 

16. Name and classify the vowel letters. 

17. Name and classify the consonant letters. 

18. What is a diphthong? a proper diphthong? an improper diphthong? a 
triphthong? 

19. Which letters are the sibilants ? which the nasals ? which the Un- 
guals ? which the cerebrals ? 



204 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE RELATIONS OF THE LETTERS TO THE ELE- 
MENTARY SOUNDS. 



VOWEL LETTERS. 
A. 
§ 183. A, normally or regularly, represents four tabular element- 
ary sounds, namely, the first, second, third, and fourth. See Table 
of Elementary Sounds, § 118. 

1. The ancient or Italian sound, as in father, which is slightly 
modified in certain combinations, as in pass, dance. 

2. The Short sound, as in mat. This is sometimes described as 
the short sound of the Italian a. 

3. The Long or slender sound, as in fate, which is modified when 
in combination with the liquid r, as in care. This use of a is pecul- 
iar to the English. 

4. The Broad sound, as in fall, which is shortened in what. 

In the words any, many, and says, a, abnormally or irregularly, 
represents the short sound usually represented by e. The short 
sound of a in late is represented by e, as in let. In unaccented syl- 
lables, the sounds represented by a are often not distinguishable from 
the sounds represented by some other vowel letters. A final, un- 
accented, has the sound of a in father, as in the word America. The 
deficiency of the English alphabet is seen in the fact that one letter 
represents at least four different sounds. There should be as many 
letters as sounds. See § 179. 

As in other languages, so in the English, the sound of a inter- 
changes with o. In Old English, the forms hond and strond occur 
instead of hand and strand. In Anglo-Saxon, brad, stan, correspond 
to the English forms broad, stone. The a in salt was pronounced 
like a in fat before it was pronounced, as at present, like o in not. 
The change from the sound of a to that of o takes place more espe- 
cially before the letter /, as wall, call. When the liquid I is follow- 
ed by another consonant, the I is generally sunk in the pronuncia- 
tion, as falcon, salmon, pronounced faucon, sammon. 

The inconvenience of having so many sounds represented by a 
single letter is partly removed by the use of marks, as in Webster's 
and Worcester's Dictionaries. Each mark serves the purpose of an 



RELATIONS OF LETTERS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 205 

original letter. It can not, however, be expected that these marks 
will generally be adopted in printing. It is not advisable to in- 
crease the variety of sounds represented by a single letter, as some 
are inclined to do. 

JE, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in Casar, 
and sometimes to short e, as in ccetera. 

Ai, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long a, as in sail, and 
sometimes to short e, as in said, and to i in aisle. These vowels are 
sometimes separated, as in mosaic. 

Ao, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long a in gaol, and 
to short o in extraordinary. In aorta these vowels do not coalesce. 

All, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to broad a, as in cause, 
and sometimes to the Italian a, as in aunt, and to long a in gauge. 

Aw, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to broad a, as in maw. 

Ay, a Proper Diphthong in the word ay, is elsewhere an Improper 
Diphthong, and is equivalent to long a, as in day. 

E. 

§ 184. E represents normally two elementary sounds, the fifth 
and the sixth. 1. The Long sound, as in mete. 2. The Short 
sound, as in met. 

It sometimes is equivalent to long a, as in there ; and to short e, 
as in her ; and to short i, as in England. 

Before I, in the final unaccented syllable, it is sometimes mute, 
as in shekel, pronounced shekel, and sometimes sounded, as in chapel. 
Before n, in the final unaccented syllable, it is sometimes mute, as 
in heaven, pronounced heaven, and sometimes sounded, as in kitchen. 
In unaccented syllables, e has sometimes the sound of u, as in suffer, 
and sometimes the sound of e is suppressed, as in words like cher- 
ries, married, pronounced cherris, marrid. 

The long sound of e is strictly the long sound of * in pit, and the 
short sound of e is strictly the short sound of a in late. 

The e mute, in words like cone, robe, serves to denote the length 
of the preceding vowel. For this purpose it is retained, but it was 
not for this purpose that it was invented. Originally it expressed a 
sound ; and it is only by a change of language that it has come, as 
it were by accident, to be an orthographical expedient. E is al- 
ways mute at the end of words, except monosyllables which have 
no other vowels, as the, me ; and proper names, as Phebe. It does 
not always lengthen the foregoing vowel, as in live, give. 

E mute, at the end of words, serves to give c the sound of s, 
which would otherwise have the sound of k, as in dance ; and also 
to giveg- the sound of j, as in singe, which would otherwise be sing; 



206 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

and also to preserve to s its own sound, which would otherwise 
have that of z, as in dispense ; and also to give to th a sonant sound 
instead of a surd, as in breathe. It is mute when / is coupled with 
a consonant at the end of words, as in fickle. 

The use of the letter e with its long sound is peculiar to the En- 
glish. In other languages it has the, sound of a in fate, or that of e 
ferme. 

Ea, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in tea ; to 
short e, as- in head ; to long a, as in break ; to the Italian a, as in heart. 

Ee, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in eel. 

Ei, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long a, as in veil; to 
long e, as in deceit ; to long i, as in height; and to short e, as in heifer. 

Eo, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in people; to 
short e, as in leopard ; to long o in yeoman ; and to short o in George. 

Eu and ew have the diphthongal sound of u, as in feud, dew. In 
sew, shew, and strew, ew sounds like long o. 

Ey is equivalent to long a, as in prey ; to long e in key ; and to 
long i in ley. Eye is equivalent to i. 

Eau has the sound of long o, as in beau ; in beauty, and its com- 
pounds, it has the sound of long u. 

I. 

§ 185. /represents normally two sounds. 1. The Diphthongal, 
sometimes called the Long sound, as in fine. See § 118. 2. The 
seventh elementary sound, called the Short sound, as in pit. The 
latter is strictly the short sound of long e. 

Before r it is equivalent to short u, as in first. It sometimes is 
equivalent to long e, as in machine. 

I, unaccented, readily blends with the succeeding vowel, as ia in 
physician ; to in concession. 

In other languages, long i is pronounced like ee. 

Ie, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long i, as in die; to 
long e, as in grief; and to short e, as in friend. In terminations, like 
twentieth, in fiery, in Orient, the vowels should be separated in pro- 
nunciation ; also in variegate. 

leu and tew, Triphthongs, have the sound of long u, as in lieu, 
review. 

O. 

§ 186. O represents normally two elementary sounds, namely, 
the eighth and the ninth. 1. The Long, as in note. 2. The Short, 
as in not. 

It sometimes is equivalent to oo, as in prove ; and to u short, as in 



RELATIONS OF LETTERS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 207 

love ; and to broad a, as in lord ; and to short i in women ; and to the 
u in full, as in wolf 

Oa, an Improper Diphthong, is sometimes equivalent to long o, as 
in coal, or to broad a, as in broad. 

Oe, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent sometimes to long o, as 
in foe, or to oo, as in canoe, or to long e, as in foztus. 

Oi is a Proper Diphthong. See § 118. 

Ou is a Proper Diphthong. See $ 118. It is also equivalent to 
short u, as in enough ; to oo, as in soup ; to long o, as in though ; to 
short o, as in cough ; to broad «, as in ought ; to u in 6wZZ, as in could ; 
to long w, as in through. 

The sound given to ou is peculiar to the English. In other lan- 
guages the sound is represented by au or aw. 

Ow is sounded like ou, and oy like oi. 



§ 187. U represents normally three sounds: 1. The Long or 
diphthongal, as in mule. 2. The tenth elementary sound, as in bull. 
3, The twelfth elementary sound, as in but. This last sound of u 
is peculiar to the English. 

It is also equivalent to short i in busy, and to short e in bury. 

Ua, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to the Italian a, as in 
guard ; to short a, as in guarantee ; to long a, or wa, in persuade. 

Tie is equivalent to long u, as in blue ; to short e, as in guest ; is 
silent, as in league. 

TJi, an Improper Diphthong, has the sound of long i, as in guide ; 
of short i, as in conduit ; of long u, as in juice. 

TJy, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long i, as in buy. 

W. 

§ 188. W, from being partly a vowel and partly a consonant in 
its use, may be called a Semi-vowel. It has nearly the sound of 
oo, and represents the thirteenth elementary sound, as in wet. W 
before h is pronounced as if it were after the h; as, what, hwat. It 
takes its written form from the union of two v's, this being the form 
of the Roman capital letter which we call V. "With o and e it forms 
diphthongs, as in now, new. It has often the same sound as u, as in 
drew. It is sometimes silent, as in write, whole. Wis often joined 
to o at the end of a syllable without affecting the sound, as in grow. 
In Welsh it is sometimes used in a syllable without another vowel, 
a.sfwl=fool. In some languages it has the sound of v. 



208 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 



§ 189. Y, from being partly a vowel and partly a consonant, may 
be called a Semi-vowel. It represents the fourteenth elementary 
sound, as in yet. It is equivalent to u, as in youth ; to i, as in my 
and crystal; and to short u, as myrrh. It often has replaced the 
Anglo-Saxon g, as in year for gear. It originally grew out of the 
Greek v, a vowel. 

CONSONANT LETTERS. 
B. 

_ § 190. B represents the twenty-second elementary sound, as in 
uag. The b in debtor, subtle, agrees with the b in lamb, dumb, thumb, 
in being mute. It differs, however, in another respect, that, while 
the words debtor, subtle, are of Classical, the words lamb, dumb, &c, 
are of Saxon origin. In debtor, &c, the b was undoubtedly at one 
time pronounced, debitor, subtilis, being the original forms. It is not 
probable that with the other words, lamb, &c, this was the case. 
The probability is, that b in speech never made a part of the word 
at all ; that it belongs now, and that it always belonged, to the writ- 
ten language only ; and that it was inserted in the spelling upon 
what may be called the Principle of Imitation, as in the case of I in 
could. See Could, § 360. 

C. 

§ 191. C is equivalent, 1. To k when before a, o, u, I, r, t, as in 
can, come, cub, clap, crop, act, and where it ends a syllable, as public. 
2. To s before c, i, and y, as centre, city, cymbal. Ce and ci, fol- 
lowed by another vowel, often blend into the sound of sh, as in 
ocean, Social. C is mute in Czar, victuals, indict. When c stands be- 
tween s and e and i, its sound is not perceived, as in scene, scion ; but 
it is necessary, in order to distinguish the words from seen, Sion. C, 
in some words, takes the sound of z, as in suffice. C might be omit- 
ted in the language without loss, since one of its sounds might be 
supplied by k, and the other by s ; but that it preserves to the eye 
the etymology of such words as face from fades, captive from cap* 
tivus. When c comes after the accent, and is followed by ea, ia, ie, 
io, or ious, it takes the sound of sh, as in ocean, &c. 

Ch represents, 1. The compound sound of tsh, as in church. 2. 
The sound of k in chorus. 3. The sound of sh, as in machine. It is 
sometimes silent, as in drachm. 



RELATIONS OF LETTERS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 209 



§ 192. D represents the twenty-eighth elementary sound, as in 
did. When -ed is preceded by a surd consonant and the e is mute, 
d represents the sound of t, as in cracked, stuffed, pronounced crackt, 
stufft. In words like badge, its office is to shorten the preceding 
consonant. 

F. 

§ 193. F represents the twenty -third elementary sound, as in fan. 
In of it has the sound of v. 

G. 

§ 194. G represents the thirteenth elementary sound when be- 
fore a, o, u, I, and r, as in gap, gone, gun, glory, grace. Before e, i, 
and y, it represents the sound of j, as in genius. To this there are 
exceptions, as get, give, gewgaw, finger, and syllables added to words 
ending in g, as fog, foggy. At the end of a word it has its ele- 
mentary sound, as in agog. It should be remembered, however, that 
Jig is not n-\-g, but represents a single elementary sound, namely, 
the sixteenth. 

In hedge and oblige, the e mute shows that g is to be pronounced 
as j. U, on the other hand, is inserted after g and before e in pro- 
rogue, in order to show that g has its elementary sound. 

G is mute before m or n in the same syllable, as in phlegm, gnaw. 

Gh, at the beginning of a word, has the sound of g hard, as in 
ghost ; in other situations it is generally mute, as in high. It some: 
times is equivalent to f as in laugh; and sometimes to k, as in 
hough ; and sometimes to g hard, as in burgh. Ough is sometimes 
equivalent to ow, as in plough ; and to oo, as in through. The orig- 
inal sound of gh was a hard guttural, as is at present the case in 
Scotland, and between g, h, f v, and w there are frequent inter- 
changes. This will explain the variety of sounds. 

H. 

§ 195. H represents the fifteenth elementary sound, as in hot. 
It is sometimes mute in the beginning of words, as in honest, and is 
always so when itfollows r in the beginning of words, as in rhetoric. 
It is also mute when final, as in catarrh. 

3. 

§ 196. /represents a compound sound, and is equivalent to dzh, 
as in jest. In hallelujah it has the sound of the German _;'; in French, 





210 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

the sound of zh ; in German, the sound of y. The letter j was orig- 
inally a modification of i. The Germans adhere more nearly to the 
original sound. 

K. 

§ 197. K represents the twenty-ninth elementary sound, as in 
kind. It never comes before a, o, or u. It is used before e, i, and 
y, when c, according to the English analogy, would be liable to be 
sounded as s, as in kept, king, skirt. These words, if written cept, 
cing, scirt, would run the risk of being sounded sept, -sing, sirt. 
Broadly speaking, k is never used except when c would be incon- 
venient. The reason of this lies in the fact of there being no such 
letter as k in the Latin language. Hence arose, in the eyes of the 
etymologist, the propriety, in all words derived from the Latin, as 
crown, concave, &c, of using the letter c to the exclusion of k. Be- 
sides this, the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, being taken from the Roman, 
excluded k, so that c was written even before the small vowels a, e, 
i, y, as cyning or cining=iB. king. C then supplanted k upon ety- 
mological grounds only. K before n is mute, as in knife. This, 
however, was not the case in the allied languages. In German and 
Danish, in words like knecht, knife, the k was sounded. This teaches 
that such was once the case in English. Hence we learn that in the 
words knife, knight, and also in gnaw, gnash } we have an antiquated 
or obsolete orthography. 



§ 198. L represents the nineteenth elementary sound. Le at the 
end of words is sounded like el, as in table. For the ejection of / in 
calf and salmon, see under A L is mute between a and k in the 
same syllable, as in balk. For the I in could, see that word. In the 
Anglo-Saxon, I is sometimes preceded by h, and aspirated, as in 
hlaf loaf. Ben Jonson says that "I melteth in the sounding, and is 
therefore called a liquid." 

M. 

$ 199. M represents the seventeenth elementary sound, as m 
man. 

N. 

§ 200. N represents the eighteenth elementary sound, as in not. 
N is mute when preceded by m or I, as in hymn, kiln. In such 
words the n originally belonged to the succeeding syllabic, as hymnus y 
in the Latin, cylene, in the Anglo-Saxon. 



RELATIONS OF LETTERS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 211 
Ng represents the sixteenth elementary sound, as in king. 

P. 

fy 201. P represents the twenty-first elementary sound, as in pate. 
It has the sound of b in tupboard. It is sometimes mute at the be> 
ginning of words before s and t, as in psalm, ptisan. It is mute in 
the middle of words between m and t, as in empty. 

Ph usually has the sound of/*, as in philosophy . In Stephen, neph- 
ew, mid. phial it has the sound of v. In apophthegm and phthisic, ph 
is silent. 

Q. 
§ 202. Q, accurately speaking, is neither a letter nor an abbrevi- 
ation. It is always followed by u, as in queen, and the two letters 
qu must be looked upon as a single sign equivalent to, but scarcely 
an abbreviation of, kw. In some words of French origin, the u is 
mute, as coquet. 

R. 

\ 203. R represents the twentieth elementary sound, as in run. It 
has been called the canine letter, from the snarling of dogs. The vo- 
cal sound of this letter, uniting with a preceding vowel sound, mod- 
ifies it, as in dare, her, bird, for, syrtis. The sound of r has a tend- 
ency to transposition, as in apron, iron, pronounced sometimes as if 
written apurn, turn. 

S. 

§ 204. S represents the thirty-first elementary sound, as in sin. 
It often represents the sound of z, as in besom. It also represents 
the sound of sh, as in sure ; and also zh, as in pleasure. It is some- 
times silent, as in island. 

T. 

$ 205. T represents the twenty-seventh elementary sound, as in 
take. 

Th represents the twenty-fifth elementary sound, as in thin; and 
the twenty-sixth, as in thine. In the substantives, breath, cloth, the 
th is sharp or surd ; that is, like th in thin. In the verbs breathe, 
clothe, the th is flat, or sonant ; that is, like th in thine. 

Th between two vowels, and between r and a vowel, is flat (so- 
nant), us father, burthen. 

Th, in certain words, like Thomas, is pronounced like t. 



212 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

V. 
§ 206. V represents the twenty-fourth elementary sound, as in van 

X. 

§ 207. X represents, 1. The sound of ks, as in exercise. 2. The 
«ound of gz, as in exert. 3. The sound of z, as in Xenophon. 



§ 208. Z represents the thirty-second elementary sound, as in 
zeal; and the thirty-fourth elementary sound, as in azure. The 
name of this letter is zee, izzard, or zed, from the French. 

EQUIVALENT LETTERS. 

§ 209. Instead of the letters which regularly (normally) rep- 
resent some of the elementary sounds, as arranged in the table, 
§ 118, other letters, in certain circumstances, are irregularly 
(abnormally) their equivalents, representing the same sounds. 

1. The letters equivalent to a in father are ea, au, ah, aa; 
as in heart, aunt, ah, baa. 

2. The letters equivalent to a in fat are ua, ea, all, at, i, ae 3 
agh ; as in guarantee, sergeant, shall, plaid, sirrah, Haer« 
lern, Armagh. 

3. The letters equivalent to a in fate are ai, ao, ay, e, ea, 
ei, ey, au ; as in pain, gaol, day, there, great, reign, they % 
gauge. 

4. The letters equivalent to a in fall are au, aw, awe, al, o, 
oa, ou; as in caul, awful, awe, walk, nor, broad, ought. 

5. The letters equivalent to e in mete are ce, ea, ee, ei, eo, ey, 
ie, i, oe, oi, eg; as in Ccesar, seat, deer, deceit, people, key, 
field, machine, antaeci, turkois, impregn. 

6. The letters equivalent to e in met are ai, ae, ea, ei, eg, ie, 
(£, a, u, eo ; as in again, Dcedalus, head, heifer, phlegm, 
friend, f&tid, any, bury, leopard. 

7. The letters equivalent to i in fit are ai, e, ce, ei, ia, ie, oi, o, 
ui, u, cy ; as in captain, yes, breeches, surfeit, carriage, sieve, 
tortoise, women, guilt, busy, cyst. 

8. The letters equivalent to o in note are au, eau, eo, ew, oa, 
oe, oo, ou, ow, owe, ot ; as in hautboy, beau, yeoman, sew, 
groan, foe, floor, mould, show, owe, depot. 



RELATIONS OF LETTERS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 213 

9. The letters equivalent to o in not are a, eo, ou ; as in what, 
George, cough. 

10. The letters equivalent to u in bull are oo, o, ou, ue ; as 
in wool, wolf, would, construe. 

11. The letters equivalent to oo in fool are o, oe, ou, osu, wo ; 
as in move, shoe, tour, manoeuvre, two. 

12. The letters equivalent to u in but are e, ea, i, o, oo, ou, 
oe ; as in her, hearth, sir, won, flood, rough, does. 

13. The letters equivalent to i in pine are ai, ei, eye, ie, of, 
ui, wy, ye ; as in aisle, height, eye, die, choir, guide, why, rye. 

14. The letters equivalent to u in rude are eau, eu, ew, ewe, 
ieu, iew, ue, ou, ui ; as in beauty, feud, new, ewe, adieu, view, 
true, you, suit. 

An equivalent of oi in voice is oy, as in boy. An equiva- 
alent of ou in house is ow, as in now. 

Having, in this chapter, collated the phonetic elements with 
the literal elements which are employed to represent them, we 
are now prepared to estimate the defects of the English Alpha- 
bet. ' 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER II. 

1. What elementary sounds does the letter a represent normally, and what 
sound abnormally ? 

2. What sound does a final represent % 

3. What elementary sounds does the letter e represent normally, and what 
sounds abnormally % 

4. What sounds does the letter i represent normally, and what sounds ab- 
normally 1 

5. What elementary sounds does the letter o represent normally, and what 
abnormally ? 

6. What sounds does the letter u represent normally, and what abnormally ? 

7. What is w called, and what elementary sound does it represent % 

8. How is it pronounced before h ? 

9. What is y called, and what elementary sounds does it represent normal- 
ly, and what sounds abnormally ? 

10. What elementary sounds do b and c, and the other consonants in the 
alphabet, severally represent ? 

11. What do you understand by equivalent letters? 

12. What letters are equivalent to a in father f 

13. What letters are equivalent to a in fat f 

14. What letters are equivalent to a in hate f 



214 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER III. 

DEFECTS OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET. 



IT IS DEFICIENT. 

§ 210. If the letter a be considered as the appropriate sign of 
the sound of a m father, then neither the sound of a in fate, nor the 
sound of a in fat, nor the sound of a in all, has either of them a sep- 
arate single sign. Thus one sign is used for four different sounds. 
In like manner, one sign, namely, the letter o, is used to represent 
the two vowel sounds in note and not. So the two sounds of th in 
thin and in thine have but one sign, namely, ih, and that sign is not 
simple. So the sound of sh in shine, of z in azure, and ng in song, 
have no corresponding simple signs. The English Alphabet is thus 
deficient in respect to the first condition mentioned in § 179. 

IT IS REDUNDANT. 

§ 211. The letter c, in words like city, maybe replaced by s ; and 
in words like cat, by k ; ch, in words like chest, is equivalent to tsh ; 
in words like mechanic, to k. In like manner, x is superfluous, ks, gz, 
or z being its equivalent, d is superfluous, cw or kw being its equiv- 
alent. The English Alphabet is thus redundant, and does not meet 
the second condition in § 179. 

IT IS INCONSISTENT. 

§ 212. F in for resembles in sound v in van, but the letter/* has 
no resemblance to the letter v. Th in thin, and th in thine, sh in 
shine, have a relationship in sound, respectively, to t, d, and z, but 
not in form. The compound sibilant sound of^' in just is spelled 
with the simple sign, j, while the compound sibilant sound in chest 
is spelled with the combination ch. The English Alphabet is thus 
inconsistent. It does not meet the third condition in § 179. 

IT IS UNSTEADY. 

§ 213. The letter c represents two sounds, as in city and in cat. 
G represents two sounds, as in^m and in gun. X represents three 
sounds, as in exert, apoplexy, Xcnophon. The English Alphabet is 
thus unsteady. It does not meet the second condition in $ 179. 



DEFECTS OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET. 215 

The defects of the English system of literal notation, in its appli- 
cation to elementary sounds, are strikingly seen in § 209, on equiv- 
alent letters. 

"While it is true that no alphabet was ever invented which ex- 
presses all the powers of articulation common to mankind in general, 
or even the sounds of any one language according to the theory of 
a perfect notation, still it is believed that the English Alphabet is the 
worst in its practical application. 

IT IS INCONVENIENT IN LEARNING OTHER TONGUES. 

§ 214. " Compared with other languages, the use of many letters in 
the English alphabet is singular. The letter i (when long or inde- 
pendent) is generally sounded as ee. "With Englishmen it has a diph- 
thongal power. The inconvenience of this is the necessity it im- 
poses upon us, in studying foreign languages, of unlearning the sound 
which we give it in our own, and of learning the sound which it 
bears in the language studied. So it is (among many others) with 
the letter j. In English, this has the sound of dzh ; in French, of 
zh; and in German, of y. From singularity in the use of letters 
arises inconvenience in the study of foreign tongues. In using j as 
dzh, there is a second objection. It is not only inconvenient, but it 
is theoretically incorrect. The letter^' was originally a modification 
of the vowel i. The Germans, who use it as the semi-vowel y, have 
perverted it from its original power less than the English have done, 
who sound it dzh. 

"The sound given to a in fate is singular. Other nations sound 
it as a hi father. The sound given to the e long (or independent) is 
singular. Other nations sound it either as a in fate or as eferme. 
The sound given to the i in bite is singular. Other nations sound it 
as ee in feet. The sound given to the oo in foot is singular. Other 
nations sound it as the o in note, or as the 6 chiuso. The sound given 
to the u in duck is singular. Other nations sound it as the u in bull 
The sound given to the ou in house is singular. Other nations, more 
correctly, represent it by au or aw. The sound given to the w in 
wet is somewhat singular, but is also correct and convenient. With 
many nations it is not found at all, while with those where it occurs 
it has the sound (there or thereabouts) off. The sound given to y 
is somewhat singular. In Danish it has a vowel power. The sound 
given to z is not the sound which it has in German and Italian ; but 
its power in English is convenient and correct. The sound given to 
ch in chest is singular. In other languages it generally has a guttural 
sound ; in French, that of sh. The English usage is more correct 



216 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

than the French, but less correct than the German." See Latham's 
English Language, p. 84. 

Having, in this chapter, seen what are the defects of the En- 
glish Alphabet for the purpose of noting sounds in the language, 
we are now prepared to examine, in the next chapter, the ori- 
gin of these defects, and thus historically to account for them. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER III. 

1. What are the six principal defects of the English Alphabet 1 ? 

2. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is de- 
ficient 1 

3. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is re- 
dundant % 

4. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is in- 
consistent? 

5. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is un- 
steady 1 

6. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is in- 
convenient in learning other languages ? 



THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET, ETC. 217 



CHAPTER IY. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET ACCOUNTS 
FOR ITS DEFECTS. 

§ 215. The English Alphabet was not invented to express the 
phonetic elements and combinations of the English language. 
It was derived from the Phoenician Alphabet, of which the He- 
brew is a type, modified to express the sounds of the Grreek lan- 
guage, thus becoming the Grreek Alphabet. This, in turn, was 
modified to express the sounds of the Latin language, and thus 
became the Roman Alphabet. This, in turn, was modified to 
express the sounds of the Anglo-Saxon language, and thus be- 
came the Anglo-Saxon Alphabet. This was modified to express 
the sounds of the English language, and thus became the En- 
glish Alphabet, with all its defects. 

In the stages of progress from oral communication to letters, 
Picture writing probably came first. In this way the ancient 
Mexicans transmitted the memory of the most important trans- 
actions of their empire. 

The next in order were Hieroglyphics, which, like pictures, 
were the signs of things, or Ideographic signs, though some of 
them were signs of the spoken language. Thus ingratitude was 
indicated by a viper, wisdom by an ant, and impudence by &fly. 

The next step in the progress was the use of syllabic char- 
acters, which were employed as signs of sounds, and not as 
signs of things. 

THE INVENTION OF LETTERS. 

§ 216. Letters representing the elementary sounds in the 
language constitute the last stage of improvement in the com- 
munication of thought by visible signs. These are called the 
Alphabet, from Alpha, Beta, the two first letters in the list in 
the Grreek language. When and where letters took their origin 
is not known. The Egyptians paid divine honors to the inventor 
of letters under the name of Tiieutii. By the Grreeks he wa9 



218 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

worshiped under the name of Hermes, and was represented com- 
monly by a head alone, without other limbs. The head itself 
was that of a beautiful youth, having on it a petasus, or bon- 
net, adorned with two wings. He possessed no other part of 
the human figure but the head, because no other part was deem- 
ed requisite to rational communication. This head had wings, 
in order to represent words, the medium of this communication 
being, as described by Homer, hrea Trrepoevra, winged words. 

THE HEBREW ALPHABET. 

§ 217. The Hebrew Alphabet is a type of alphabets used by 
the Shemitic nations, including the Phoenician. It consists of 
twenty-two consonants, some of which have the power of vow- 
els, as follows : 

x, Aleph, ox — A; a, Beth, house — B; 5, Gimel, ca?nel=G; 

1, Daleth, door — J); n, He, tvindow = 'E; i, Yau, hook = Y or 
U; t, Zain, weapon=Z ; n, Cheth, fence = H ; B, Teth, snake 
= T ', i, Jod, hand=J or Y; 3, Kaph, hand shut— K; \ La- 
med, ox-goad = L ; 22, Mem, water — M ; 5, Nun, fish = N : 
s, Samech, prop=S; s, Ain, eye — §\ b, Pe, mouth — Y \ s, 
Tsaddi, fish-hook=Tz; p, Koph, «pe = Q,; % Resh, head = R; 
W } Shin, foo^ = Sh; n, Tau, cross=T. 

Originally the letters were rude representations of the visible 
objects, the names of which began with the sounds represented 
by the several characters. Some of them still retain the re- 
semblance of those objects, as % b, 3), Q. The language was 
written from right to left. 

THE GREEK ALPHABET. 

§ 218. The common opinion is that Cadmus, a Phoenician, 
who settled in Boeotia and founded Thebes, introduced letters 
in^o Greece A.C. 1493. The Cadmean letters, it is commonly 
thought, were sixteen: A, B ; T, A, E, (F), I, K, A, M, N, 0, II, P, 

2, T. Upsilon should be viewed in connection with digamma. 
The Greeks took but twenty-one of the twenty-two Phoenician 
letters. The letter Tsaddi, 2, was never adopted by the Greeks. 
The letter p, Koph, at first received under the name of koppa. 
was afterward ejected. T, $, X, -i, SI, were afterward added, in 
order to express sounds, probably, in the Greek, but not in the 



THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET, ETC. 219 

Phoenician language. Some of the Phoenician characters intro- 
duced into Greece were used with changed or new powers, ac- 
cording to the wants of the language which they were used to 
express. The form of the letters was also changed in the prog- 
ress of time, so that the similarity is lessened hetween the He- 
brew Alphabet and the Greek. The manner of writing it was 
also changed. Ancient Greek, like the Hebrew, was written 
from right to left. It was afterward used as in the manner of 
plowing, alternately from right to left and from left to right. 
It was subsequently written like the English, from left to right. 
" Literas semper arbitror Assyrios fuisse ; sed alii iEgyptios, 
alii apud Syros repertas volunt. Utique in Grseciam intulisse 
e Phoenice Cadmum." — Pliny, vii., 56. The sixteen letters 
which Cadmus carried into Greece were not his own, but East- 
ern characters. Instead of inventing alphabetic writing, he de- 
serves no more credit than does the mariner or the missionary 
who carries our letters to a distant shore. 

THE ROMAN ALPHABET. 

§ 219. The Roman Alphabet was derived from the Greek. 
A part of the letters only were at first introduced, and afterward 
others. 

In accommodating the Greek Alphabet to their own language, 
the Latins (1) dropped those letters that were not needed, and 
(2) they used some of the letters imported with a new power, 
and (3) they introduced some new letters. They dropped ^, 
and X, and 0, and K, and $, permanently. They dropped H 
and Z for a time, and then restored them, placing them at the 
end of the alphabet. They used the letter digamma, F, with 
the power, not of v or w, but with that of F. They used the 
letter eta, H, with a new power, namely, that of h. They in- 
troduced the letter c, at first with the power of g as well as 
that of k ; and also the letters v and j, which are modifications, 
the one of u, and the other of i ; and also the letter q, which 
seems to have come directly from the Phoenician Alphabet, as 
the equivalent of koph or qoph ; and also the letter y, which 
seems a modification of v. X and q are redundant. <J> and 6 
ought to have been retained, inasmuch as ph and th do not prop- 
erly represent the sound which they are employed to indicate. 

f 



220 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

THE ANGLO-SAXON ALPHABET. 

§ 220. The Anglo-Saxon Alphabet was derived mainly from 
the Roman, from which, indeed, it differs by certain additions, 
omissions, and modifications. 1. It has the letter ]>~th in 
thin — Q in Greek, which the Roman has not. 2. It has the 
letter ^S—th in thine, which the Roman has -not. 3. It has 
the letter c, to the exclusion of k, in common with the Latin, 
but which the Greek has not. 4. It has the letter iv, which 
the Roman has not. 5. It has the letter / , either with the pow- 
er of y as in German, or of zh as in French, or of dzh as in En- 
glish, which is not in the Latin or Greek. 6. It has not the 
letter q, which the Latin has. 7. It has not the letter z. 8. 
It has not the letter v, which the Roman has. 

It may have borrowed the letters J?, 3, from the Moeso-Gothic, 
which, though for the most part it borrowed its alphabet from 
the Greek and Latin, may have borrowed them from the Runic, 
an alphabet of great antiquity, and long used in the north of 
Europe. 

Under the influence of the Norman French, the Anglo-Saxon 
Alphabet underwent some changes. The sound system of that 
language, derived from the Latin, bore a greater resemblance to 
that of the Romans than was to be found among the Gothic 
tongues. It was through the Norman influence that the letters 
]>, $, unfortunately were dropped from the language. In other 
respects the alphabet was improved. The letters z, k, j, were 
either imported or more currently recognized. — Latham's En- 
glish Language, p. 206, 207. 

OLD ENGLISH ALPHABET. 

§ 221. The alphabet received from the Anglo-Saxons, modi- 
fied by the Normans, underwent some other modifications. The 
letter 3, a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon g, is found in Old En- 
glish manuscripts. It sometimes is equivalent to our g, some- 
times to y, and sometimes to gh. It has properly no connection 
with the letter z, for which it has sometimes been improperly 
used. The character employed was the black letter, or the 
Gothic. Of these there were varieties, as the " set chancery,'' 
" chancery," " running court." 



THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET, ETC. 221 

In time, the Roman character was introduced into modern 
English, and also the Italian, so called from the types used by 
Italian printers. Ligatures, that is, double letters, like fl, ffl, 
were formerly more frequently used than now, as were also 
double vowels, like ce, as. The character $ was laid aside, g or 
y taking its place. 

Thus we have seen how the English Alphabet was derived 
from the Phoenician Alphabet, through the Grreek, and the Ho- 
man, and the Anglo-Saxon Alphabets. 

Having, in the last two chapters, examined the defects of 
the English Alphabet, and also seen how they are historically 
accounted for, we are prepared to examine, in the next chapter, 
the expedients which have been resorted to in English orthog- 
raphy for expressing the sounds in the language. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER IV. 

1. Was the English Alphabet invented to express the phonetic elements 
and combinations in the English language 1 

2. From what several successive alphabets was the English language de- 
rived 1 

3. What was the first mode of communication by visible signs, and the 
second mode, and the third mode, before the invention of letters'? 

4. From what is the word alphabet derived 1 

5. Is it known when and where letters were invented? 

6. What is said of the honors paid to the inventor of letters by the Egyp- 
tians and the Greeks ?- 

7. Of what alphabet is the Hebrew Alphabet a type ? 

8. Of how many letters is the Hebrew Alphabet composed, and what is 
said of them 1 

9. What is said of the shape of the letters, and in what direction was the 
language written? 

10. What is said of the Greek Alphabet? 

1 1 . What is said of the Roman Alphabet 1 

12. What is said of the Anglo-Saxon Alphabet? 

13. What is said of the Old English Alphabet? 



222 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER V. 

ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXPEDIENTS. 

§ 222. To remedy the defects of the alphabet, certain ortho- 
graphical expedients are extensively employed, especially in 
expressing the quantity of the vowels. 

The Long or Independent sounds of vowels are indicated in 
English orthography in several different ways. 

1. The duplication of the letters, as in meet, door, seemly. 
Here the duplication indicates the long sound of e and the long 
sound of o. This expedient was adopted at an early period in the 
history of the language, as is seen in words like wyyf (wife), 
lyyf (life), ivee (we). But these indications are not to be relied 
on, inasmuch as the double vowel letter often represents a short 
vowel sound, as in took, book, flood. 

2. The diphthongal notation, as in rain, meat, groan, soul, 
bowl. Here the addition of one vowel indicates the long sound 
of a, of e, and of o. Still there is no distinctness in the indica- 
tion, inasmuch as the two last words might be taken to rhyme 
With, foul and howl. 

3. A silent e, as in fame, shade, mode. Here the silent e in- 
dicates the long sound of a and o. Anciently, such words were 
pronounced in two syllables. When this pronunciation ceased, 
the spelling remained, and the e mute indicates the long sound 
of the other vowel. Still the indication is imperfect, inasmuch 
as it can not be continued in derivatives like famous, shady, mo- 
dish, which might be taken to sound like famine, shadow, model. 

4. A silent consonant, as in climb, talk, resign. Here the 
silent consonants b, I, g, indicate the long sound of a and i. 
This indication is useful to those who are acquainted with it, 
but others it would lead into error. 

5. The duplication of a consonant, as in better, torrent, is an 
orthographical expedient to indicate the Short or Dependent 
sound of the preceding vowel. This has long been the habit of 
the language. But the duplication of the consonant in some 



ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXPEDIENTS. 223 

other cases seems to indicate the long sound of the vowel, as in 
roll, tall. 

In a poem called "*The Ormulum," every short vowel was 
indicated by a double consonant, as w at err, filledd. 

6. The use of c before k is sometimes an orthographical ex- 
pedient to indicate the short or dependent sound of the preced- 
ing vowel, as in pickle. K is never doubled. 

7. The use of u after g is an orthographic expedient indicat- 
ing the surd sound of g, as in guile, prorogue. 

8. " The use of th for the simple sound of the first consonant 
in thin and thine is an orthographical expedient. The combi- 
nation must be dealt with as a single letter." 

9. The use of d before g, as in edge, abridge, budge, lodge, 
is an orthographical expedient showing that the vowel is short. 

Elementary sounds, then, in the English language, are ex- 
pressed, 

I. By single appropriate elementary "signs ; as, in the words 
law and bar the first elementary sound in each is normally rep- 
resented by the letter / or b. 

II. By single elementary signs used abnormally or irregular- 
ly ; as, in the words many, design, the a in the first, the s in 
the second, are used irregularly, the one to represent the sound 
normally represented by e, and the other the sound normally 
represented by z. 

III. By conventional expedients as above described. 

Of these three modes, the first is greatly to be preferred, as 
being regular, and as promoting consistency in the language. 
The second and third are not to be encouraged, inasmuch as 
they introduce irregularity and confusion. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER V. 

1. For what purpose are orthographical expedients especially employed? 

2. In what several modes is the long sound of the vowel expressed 1 ? 

3. In what several modes is the short sound of the vowel expressed? 

4. What is said of the use of c before k ? 

5. What is said of the use of u after gf 

6. In what three ways are elementary sounds expressed 1 

7. Which of these three modes is to be preferred, and why ? 



224 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ORTHOGRAPHY. 



IN WHAT ORTHOGRAPHY CONSISTS. 

§ 223. Orthography, or right spelling of a word, consists in 
the use of those letters which best agree, first, with its Pronun- 
ciation ; second, with its Etymology ; and third, with the Anal- 
ogies of the English language, particularly of that class of words 
to which it belongs. A person acquainted only with the general 
power of the letters, but ignorant of the intricacies of English or- 
thography, will very likely use those letters which merely express 
the sounds of the words which he employs, irrespective of the 
other two particulars. "For thought he would write thaut. An 
etymologist would be inclined to adopt that spelling which would 
best give the history of the word. For governor he would very 
likely write governour. A spelling-book maker would, in form- 
ing his tables, have his mind fixed on the analogy of particular 
classes of words, and withdrawn from the other two particulars. 
But, in order to form a correct system of orthography, one must, 
instead of leaning to one of these modes, comprehend them all 
in his view, giving to each its due prominence, and at once ex- 
pressing the Sounds of words, their Histories and Analogies. 

DIVERSITIES IN ORTHOGRAPHY. 

§ 224. The diversities in Orthography which have existed in 
the Anglo-Saxon first, and then in the English language, may 
be dated back, I. To the original dialectic differences in the Sax- 
ons, the Angles, and the Jutes ; II. To there being for a period 
eight Saxon kingdoms, each of which, in an age when there was 
no printing, might originate some peculiarities of dialect ; III. 
To the partial introduction of Scandinavian terms from Norway, 
Sweden, and Denmark; IV. To the influence of the Norman 
Conquest ; V. To the writers of the period of Queen Elizabeth, 
some of whom attached but little consequence to orthography. 
Shakspeare's name is spelled in at least two, if not three differ- 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 225 

ent ways in his will, and the proper way of spelling it is not yet 
fully settled. 

In the Anglo-Saxon, a single word was sometimes spelled in 
as many as fifteen or twenty different ways. And more than 
one word can be found in the present English which are spelled 
by different authors in ten or twelve different ways. Though 
Johnson in his Dictionary was thought to have settled the " ex- 
ternal form" of the language, there still remain what he calls 
" spots of barbarity," which the orthographist may endeavor to 
remove. Diversities still exist, and questions not unfrequently 
arise which can be settled only by an appeal to the true princi- 
ples of orthography. 

INCONSISTENCIES OF ENGLISH ORTHOGRAPHY. 

§ 225. The inconsistencies of English orthography might be 
inferred from the examples under equivalent letters, § 209. 
They are still more strikingly seen in the following examples, in 
which the same sounds are expressed by different letters, or dif- 
ferent sounds are expressed by the same letters. In the case of 
done, the analogical spelling would be rone, the actual spelling 
is (run). So eight, leight (late) ; thigh, trigh (try) ; design, 
lign (line) ; two, dwo (do) ; hearty, pearty (party) ; learn, team 
(turn) ; such, tuch (touch) ; double, double (bubble) ; despair, 
thair (there) ; beauty, deauty (duty) ; said, haid (head) ; laugh- 
ter, aughter (after). 

B makes road broad ; c makes limb climb ; d turns a crow 
into a croivd ; e turns yes into eyes ; f turns the lower regions 
into flower regions ; g makes one gone ; h turns eight into 
height ; k makes now know ; I changes a pear into a pearl ; 
n changes a crow into a crown ; p changes a rover into a prov- 
er ; s changes hall into shall ; t turns here into there ; w turns 
•omen into women; y turns ours into yours. — Pitman's Pho- 
netic Journal. 

DIFFERENT PLANS OF REFORM. 

§ 226. For instance, the celebrated William Cobbett proposed, 
by a summary process, to give up the forms of the preterits of 
the irregular or strong verbs, and substitute for them the forms 
in ed, thus making the verbs regular, as arised for arose, abided 

P 



226 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

for abode. This would be a sweeping change in our orthogra- 
phy. On the other hand, with more reason, that distinguished 
scholar, Archdeacon Hare, proposed that, following the example 
of Spenser and Milton, we should return to those forms in spell- 
ing the preterits which express their sounds in pronunciation, 
as stept for stepped, cald for called, exprest for expressed. Thus 
Spenser uses the orthography which makes the letters conform 
to the sound, lookt, pluckt, nurst, kist ; so did Milton, as hurld, 
worshipt, confest. In confirmation, he quotes the authority of 
Grimm : " In case the e is omitted in the preterit, the d becomes 
t after /, m, n, p, k, f (from v), gh (from k and ch), and s, as 
dealt, dreamt, learnt, crept, crackt, reft, sought, kist." 

To illustrate his proposal, he makes the following happy quo- 
tation of a stanza of Coleridge's beautiful Genevieve : 

" Her bosom heaved, she stepped aside — 
As conscious of my look she stepped ; 
Then suddenly, with timorous eye, 
She fled to me and wept." 

" How much," he remarks, " the grace of these lines to the 
eye would be improved, if stepped were written, as the rhyme 
shows it must be pronounced, steptP 

Other reformers have proposed to lay aside all silent letters as 
useless or inconvenient ; while others still, like Dr. Franklin, 
have proposed a reformed Alphabet. 

OPPOSITE VIEWS. 

§ 227. Two views have been taken of the subject of reform 
in language. The one is in favor of innovation, the other of 
conservation. Pope ridiculed a love for the rust of antiquity. 

" Authors, like coins, grow dear as they grow old ; 
It is the rust we value, not the gold." 

Shakspeare, on the other hand, in Love's Labor Lost, Act V.,' 
scene i., makes one of his characters ridicule innovation in lan- 
guage : "I abhor such fanatical phantasms, insociable and 
point-devise companions; such rackers of orthography, as to 
speak dout fine, when he should say doubt ; det, when he should 
say debt — d-e-b4, not d-e-t. He clepeth a calf, cauf; half 
hauf ; neighbor, vocatur neb our ; neigh, abbreviated tie; this 
is abhominablc, which he would call abominable." 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 227 

These views relate to orthography in particular, as well as to 
language in general. One class are attached to the external 
form of the language as they have been acquainted with it from 
their childhood, when they rejoiced in being good spellers ; and 
they regard every change in the word, which they have associated 
with the great thoughts and noble sentiments produced by them- 
selves or others, as a kind of profanation. The other class are 
inclined to dwell on the acknowledged defects and inconsistencies 
of English orthography, and to aver that we are bound to aim 
at their removal by salutary reform. 

"We incline to the opinion of Mitford : " Unfortunately for the 
English language, custom, distracted between two widely dif- 
ferent idioms, the Anglo-Saxon and the Norman-French, has not 
only neglected science, but has allowed capricious ignorance to 
riot. Hence it will be necessary, with stricter care, to survey 
the established representation of the sounds of English speech 
by written characters ; to unfold its perplexities ; to discover 
among its anomalies what may pass for rules ; to fix upon a 
mode of pointing out to the reader, with certain precision, any 
sound in the language." — Mitford on the Harmony of Lan- 
guage, p. 13. 

DOUBTFUL ORTHOGRAPHY. 

§ 228. There are in the English language as many as four 
thousand words whose orthography is given in different forms 
by different modern dictionaries. The authors and editors of 
these dictionaries, or most of them, have felt that reform was 
necessary, and therefore have set up to be reformers ; some of 
them leaning to usage, some to etymology, some to the analo- 
gies of the language, some to convenience, or other considera- 
tions. 

USAGE. 

§ 229. It is often asserted that usage or custom is the sover- 
eign arbiter in all matters pertaining to language. " But what 
is this custom to which we must so implicitly submit ? Is it 
the multitude of speakers [spellers], whether good or bad ? This 
has never been asserted by the most sanguine abettors of its au- 
thority. Is it the usage of the studious in schools and colleges, 



228 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

with those of the learned professions, or that of those who, from 
their elevated birth and station, give laws to the refinements 
and elegancies of a court ? To confine propriety to the latter, 
which is too often the case, seems an injury to the former, who, 
from their very profession, appear to have a natural right to a 
.share, at least, in the legislation of language, if not to an abso- 
lute sovereignty."— Walker's Preface to his Dictionary, p. 5. 
Usage is not uniform. There is ancient usage and present 
usage, general usage and local usage. Custom or usage, there- 
fore, in given cases of doubtful orthography, must be an uncer- 
tain guide, because it is divided ; and, even if it were undivided, 
it might be contrary to other important considerations. 

THE NORMAL USE OF THE LETTERS. 

§ 230. The normal use of the letters in representing the el- 
ementary sounds in the language, and also the anomalous use 
in representing the same sounds. "What the normal use of the 
letters is may be seen from the Table of Elementary Sounds, 
§ 183. What is the anomalous use may be seen from § 209, on 
equivalent letters. The sound of a in ap is normal ; it is the 
second elementary sound, represented by the letter a in its nor- 
mal use. The sound of a in any is anomalous ; it is the sev- 
enth elementary sound in the table, normally represented by e, 
and anomalously represented by a. Other things being equal, 
the normal use of the letters should, in orthography, be preferred 
to their anomalous use, as authorize in preference to authorise. 
The consonantal sound in the last is normally represented by z, 
but anomalously by s. 

THE VALUE OF SILENT LETTERS. 

§ 231. In honour and favour, u is a silent, and therefore a 
useless letter so far as sound is concerned. But it has an ety- 
mological value. The u signifies that the words came to us 
through the French. Without the u, the words stand just as 
they were originally spelled in the Latin. So that the question 
is, whether we shall be at the trouble of retaining a letter that 
is useless as to sound, for the sake of the historical association, 
when the real origin of the words is to be sought in the Latin. 
The tendency of the language is to omit the u in words of this 
class. 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 229 

ETYMOLOGICAL FACTS AND REASONS. 

§ 232. The question may arise whether rane-deer or rein- 
deer is the true spelling. In favor of the first, it can be said 
that rane is the normal representative of the sound in the spoken 
language, whereas rein is an anomalous representative of that 
sound, and the ei might, by a foreigner, be confounded or iden- 
tified with the ei in deceit and in either. The word is derived 
from the Saxon hrana or hranas. Its etymology thus settles 
its true spelling. 

The primary object of writing and spelling is to express the 
sounds of the language. But beyond this primary object there 
is, with the orthographical systems of many languages, a sec- 
ondary one, namely, to combine with the representation of the 
sound of a given word the representation of its history and ori- 
gin. The sound of c in city is the sound that we naturally spell 
with the letter 5 ; and if the expression of this sound were the 
only object of orthographists, the word would be spelled, accord- 
ingly, sity. The following facts traverse this simple view of the 
matter. The word is a derived word ; it is transplanted into 
our language from the Latin, where it is spelled with a c (civi- 
tas), and to change this c into s conceals the origin and history 
of the word. In cases like this, the orthography is bent to a 
secondary end by the etymology. On the same ground, lode- 
stone and lode-star are preferable to load-stone and load-star. 
Lode was the ancient form, and distinguished literati in England 
and America seem disposed to employ this form. 

THE ANALOGIES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

§ 233. The question may arise whether, upon the addition of 
the formative er to the word travel, the / should be doubled ; in 
other words, whether traveler or traveller is the correct spell- 
ing. It is a remark in the Cambridge Philological Museum, 
" that there is something extremely unpleasant in such a mass 
of letters as one finds accumulated in travelled, in an unaccent- 
ed syllable." What, however, seems to settle the correct or- 
thography of the word is the analogy of the language. It is a 
rule in the English language, " that verbs ending in a single 
consonant, but having the accent on the syllable preceding the 



230 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

last, ought not to double the final consonant." According, then, 
to the analogy of the language, er should be added, and nothing 
more. 

Between the two forms highth and height use is perhaps di- 
vided, the first having the authority of Milton and some eminent 
modern writers, like "Walter Savage Landor. This form can be 
defended not so much on the ground of throwing out the useless 
letter e, as on that of its being in analogy with high, from 
which it is derived. So to clothe (not cloath) is in analogy with 
cloth ; loathe is in analogy with loth ; cloke (rather than cloak) 
is in analogy with a large class of words, and is the ancient 
form. 

CHANGE OF PRONUNCIATION. 

§ 234. Moreover, modes of spelling which at one time were 
correct, may, by a change of pronunciation, become incorrect, 
so that the orthography becomes obsolete whenever there takes 
place a change of speech without a corresponding change of 
spelling. If the letter y, in the first syllable of the word chym- 
islry, represented the vowel sound generally given in pronunci- 
ation to that word at the time Johnson wrote his Dictionary, 
then he accomplished the true end of orthography by spelling it 
as it was pronounced ; but if afterward there was a general 
change in the pronunciation of the word, so that the letter y no 
longer represented the sound heard in that syllable, then, on 
that ground, the change ought to be made from y to e, if the 
letter e represents that sound ; but if the letter e does not repre- 
sent the sound heard in speaking so well as y, or its equivalent, 
t, then y or i should be employed to represent that sound. If, 
in addition, the etymology of the word, derived from the Arabic 
kimia, points to i, if the analogy of some other languages points 
the same way, the French spelling it chimie, the Spanish chim- 
ia, the Italians chimica, there is strong reason for spelling it ei- 
ther with * or y in the first syllable. This statement is brought 
forward, not for the purpose of showing the true spelling of the 
word, about which nothing is asserted except conditionally, but 
for the sake of showing what kind of reasoning can be adopted 
by an orthographist in settling the spelling of a word. 

The word commandment was formerly pronounced in four 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 231 

syllables, and was then spelled commandement. That pronun- 
ciation has ceased, and, in harmony with this, the penult sylla- 
ble e has been dropped. 

TENDENCY OF THE LANGUAGE. 

§ 235. It is the tendency of the language to lay aside as use- 
less silent letters in certain classes of words. There are those, 
indeed, who strongly object to this mutilation of words, to which 
they have long been accustomed, as marring their beauty, just 
as they would object to the mutilation of ancestral trees, under 
whose shade they had often reposed. Still, there are certain ten- 
dencies of the language which can not be withstood by this con- 
servative spirit, however praiseworthy. Between the two forms 
public and publick, use has been divided. The argument in 
favor of the first form is, that it is free from a useless letter ; 
that it better agrees with its etymology, derived as it is from the 
Latin word publicus, which has no k ; that it is in analogy with 
its derivatives, publicly, publication, which have no k. The 
argument in favor of the k is, that c has no determinate sound, 
being equivalent at one time to s and at another to k, and should 
therefore never end a word, since the next word may begin ei- 
ther with a broad' vowel, a, o, or u, when it would have the 
sound of k, or with a small vowel, e or i, when it would have 
the sound of s. Now the tendency of the language, the weighty 
authority of Johnson to the contrary notwithstanding, is to lay 
aside the k in words like this. 

These instances are brought forward, not for the purpose of 
deciding any doubtful questions in orthography, but only to ex- 
hibit the considerations which the orthographist must take into 
view in order to come to a correct decision. 

GRAMMAR. 

§ 236. Grammar — French g-rammaire, Greek yp&\i\ia, a let- 
ter — as a science, is a system of principles common to all lan- 
guages. These principles relate to Articulate Sounds ; to Let- 
ters ; to Syllables ; to Words ; to Sentences. 

Grammar, as an art, is a system of rules for the practical 
application of these principles to language. 

These principles are deduced from the analysis of language, 



232 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

and are applied in its synthesis. A principle in science is a rule 
in art; the two should not be confounded. u The two ideas of 
science and art differ from one another as the understanding 
differs from the will, and as the indicative mode in Grammar 
differs from the imperative. The one deals in facts, and the other 
in precepts. Science is a collection of truths ; art is a body of 
rules, or directions for the conduct. The language of science is, 
This is, or This is not ; This does or does not happen. The lan- 
guage of art is, Do this ; Avoid that." — Mill's Essays on some 
Unsettled Questions in Political Economy, p. 124. 

ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

§ 237. English Grammar, as a science, is a system of prin- 
ciples and a collection of facts peculiar to the English language, 
together with those which are common, also, to other languages. 

English Grammar, as an art, is a system of rules for the prac- 
tical application of these principles to the English language. 

In the study of English Grammar, the end aimed at is, I. An 
acquaintance with those facts and principles which pertain to 
the science ; II. A familiarity with the application of those prin- 
ciples to practice. He who, in his practice in writing and speak- 
ing, applies these principles, thus making science the minister 
of art, speaks and writes the English language correctly. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER VI. 

1. In what does orthography or right spelling consist? 

2. To what facts can the diversities in English orthography be referred as 
their causes 1 

3. Can you mention any facts which exhibit the inconsistencies of English 
orthography 1 

4. Mention certain plans for reforming English orthography. 

5. Mention opposite views on the subject of reforming the orthography. 

6. Mention the number of words in the language differently spelled in dif- 
ferent dictionaries. 

7. What is the value of usage for settling any cases of doubtful orthography ? 

8. What is said of the normal use of letters in orthography? 

9. What is said of the value of silent letters in relation to orthography ? 

10. What is said of etymological facts and reasons ? 

11. What is said of the analogies of the English language in relation to 
orthography ? 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 233 

12. What is said of a change of pronunciation in relation- to a change of 
orthography ? 

13. What is said of the tendencies of the language ? 

14. What is Grammar as a science and as an art 1 

15. What is the difference between science and art? 

16. What is English Grammar as a science and as an art £ 



EXERCISES UNDER PART III. 

ORTHOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS. 

§ 238. By Orthographic Analysis is meant that process by 
which each element of the written language, namely, each let- 
ter, is separated from the orthographic form in which it is used, 
and referred to the classification in § 182, and its local repre- 
sentative power described, according to § 183. 

In phonetic analysis the attention is fixed on the Sounds ; in 
orthographic analysis, on the Letters. In the former, the things 
represented are under consideration ; in the latter, the represent- 
atives themselves. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. The Hebrew is a sublime monochord, uttering vague 
vowel sounds, as indistinct and shy as the breathings of an iEo- 
lian harp when exposed to a fitful breeze. — De Q,uincey. 

T is a dental surd consonant letter, cognate with d ; h is an 
aspirate consonant letter ; here they are taken together as a 
compound sign or representative of a single sonant phonetic ele- 
ment ; e is a vowel letter representing a phonetic element ; h is 
a letter representing a phonetic element ; e, as above ; b is a 
cognate consonant letter, and is called a labial, and here repre- 
sents a phonetic element ; r is a liquid consonant letter, some- 
times called a palatal, sometimes a lingual, and here represents 
a phonetic element ; ew, a digraph, is equivalent to u, and rep- 
resents a diphthongal sound. The learner is expected to go 
through the sentence in like manner. 

2. High on a throne of royal state, which far 

Outshone the wealth of Ormus or°of Ind, 
Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, 
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, 



234 ORTHOGRAPHICAL FORMS. 

Satan exalted sat, by merit raised to that 
Bad eminence. — Milton. 

H is an aspirated consonant letter representing a phonetic el- 
ement; i is a small vowel letter representing a phonetic ele- 
ment ; g and A, neither separately nor taken together, represent 
here any phonetic element ; o is a broad vowel letter represent- 
ing a phonetic element ; n is a liquid nasal consonant letter, 
sometimes called a cerebral, and here represents a phonetic ele- 
ment ; a is a broad vowel letter representing a phonetic element ; 
t is a dental cognate consonant letter ; h is an aspirate letter ; 
th together are a compound sign of a phonetic element ; r, as 
before ; o is a broad vowel letter, and represents a phonetic ele- 
ment ; n, as before ; e represents no phonetic element, but is 
used as an orthographical expedient. The learner is expected 
to go through the passage in like manner. 

3. Analyze the following passage, and state, 

(1) "Which letters represent the broad vowel elements, and 
which letters represent small vowel elements. 

(2) "Which letters represent surd elements, and which repre- 
sent sonant elements ; which, liquid elements ; which, nasal 
elements ; which, labial elements ; which, dental elements ; ' 
which, palatal elements ; which, sibilant elements ; which, cer- 
ebral elements. 

(3) Which letters are normally used in representing phonetic 
elements ; and which letters arc used abnormally in represent- 
ing phonetic elements ; and which letters are employed as ortho- 
graphical expedients. 

(4) What letter (or letters) is derived from the Phoenician; 
what letter is derived from the Greek ; what letter is derived 
from the Roman ; what letter is derived from the Anglo-Saxon. 

Of the poetical principle, the philosophy of life in New-En- 
gland makes little account. Emblems of the past do not invite 
the gaze down the vistas of time. Reverence is seldom awaken- 
ed by any object, custom, or association. An extravagant spirit 
of utility invades every scene of life, however sequestered. Wc 
attempt not to brighten the grim features of care, or relieve the 
burdens of responsibility. The daughter of a distinguished law 
professor in Europe was in the habit of lecturing in her father's 
absence. To guard against the fascination of her charms, which, 



ORTHOGRAPHY. ' 235 

it was feared, would divert the attention of the students, a cur- 
tain was drawn before the fair teacher, from behind which she 
imparted her instructions. Thus do we carefully keep out of 
sight the poetical, and veil the spirit of beauty, that we may 
worship undisturbed at the shrine of the practical.— H. T. Tuck- 
er man. 

synthesis. 

1. Compose a sentence in which there shall be some letters 
representing the cognate phonetic elements. 

2. Compose a sentence in which there shall be the represent- 
atives of the liquid phonetic elements ; and one in which there 
shall be labial letters; and one in which there shall be dental 
letters ; and one in which there shall be guttural or palatal let- 
ters ; and one in which there shall be nasal letters ; and one in 
which there shall be cerebral letters ; and one in which there 
shall be sibilant letters. 

3. Compose a sentence in which there shall be equivalent let- 
ters, namely, letters which abnormally or irregularly represent 
the same sounds which are normally or regularly represented by 
other letters. 

4. Compose a sentence in which there shall be elementary 
sounds expressed by orthographical expedients. 

5. Compose a sentence in which there shall be letters that 
come from the Hebrew Alphabet ; and letters that come from 
the Greek Alphabet; and letters that come from the Roman 
Alphabet ; and at least one letter that comes from the Anglo- 
Saxon Alphabet. 

Having, in this Third Part, exhibited the external, or the or- 
thographic, form of the Matter or Sounds of the language, we are 
prepared to examine the Etymological Relations. 



PART IV. 

ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE PARTS OF SPEECH. 



DEFINITIONS. 

§ 239. Etymology, from the Greek ervpov, an etymon, and 
Xoyoq, an account, is an account of the etymon, the true, lit- 
eral, and exact force of a word. Hence, by extension, it is an 
account of the different kinds of words and of their forma- 
tion. It treats of the classification, inflection, and derivation 
of words. 

The term is used in two senses. When used in the limited 
sense of the word, it is grammatical etymology, and includes 
classification and inflection. "When used in the wide sense, it 
is historical etymology, and embraces the derivation of words 
from different languages or from different stages of the same 
language. In both senses it treats of single words, and takes 
cognizance of the changes of form which they undergo. See 
§382. 

Etymological Forms, in the English language, are the words 
of the language viewed only in their etymological relation, 
whether in the same language or in other languages. 

Grammatical Etymology treats of the classification and in- 
flection of words. 

Classification is the division of words into their different 
sorts or parts of speech. A speech is the expression of a thought 
by words, or it is a sentence. 

Inflection is the change of form which words undergo in 
order to express different relations ; as the change of termination 
of a verb to indicate its relation to persons ; as, Speak, speakest ; 



238 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

or the change of termination of a noun in declension ; as, John, 
Johrts ; or it is the change of termination of an adjective ; as, 
Wise, wiser, wisest. 

As grammar originally grew out of logic, the former drew 
from the latter many of its terms. 

A proposition is an assertive sentence, or, in other words, it 
is a sentence containing an assertion ; as, Man is mortal ; the 
rain falls ; the sun warms the earth. 

Every proposition, logically considered, has three parts: 

1. The thing spoken of, called the Subject. 

2. That which is said of it, called the Predicate. 

3. That which connects the subject and predicate, called the 
Copula. 

Man, in the first example, is the subject ; mortal is the pred- 
icate ; and is is the copula. In the second sentence the predi- 
cate and the copula are expressed by a single word, falls, equiv- 
alent to is falling. In the third example the predicate and 
copula are expressed by the words warms the earth, equivalent 
to is warming the earth. See § 451. 

In grammar the subject and predicate are chiefly regarded, 
while little notice is taken of the copula. For the difference be- 
tween the logical subject and the grammatical subject, and for 
the difference between the logical predicate and the grammati- 
cal predicate, see § 478. 

As language is chiefly made up of propositions, we infer the 
importance of studying their structure, and of making it the 
basis of the classification of the parts of speech. In the lan- 
guage of Plato, " Thought and speech are the same ; only the 
internal and silent discourse of the mind with herself is called 
Atdvoca, thought, or cogitation ; but the effusion of the mind 
through the lips, in articulate sound, is called Xoyog, or rational 
speech." The several parts of speech correspond to the work- 
ings of the mind, of which they are the expression. 

.CLASSIFICATION OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH. 

§ 240. I. A word which can by itself, with all finite verbs, 
form the subject of a proposition, and with the verb to be can 
form the predicate of a proposition, is called a Noun or Substan- 
tive ; as, " Man dies." In this simple proposition, man is the 



THE PARTS OF SPEECH. 239 

subject. " Stand up ; I also am a man." In this proposition, 
man is the predicate. 

Or, a word which is the name of a person, place, or thing, is 
called a Noun or Substantive ; as, Plato, Boston, virtue. 

II. A word which can not by itself form the subject of a 
proposition, but which, with the verb to be, can form the predi- 
cate of a proposition, is called an Adjective ; as, " God is good;' 1 '' 
" Man is mortal.'''' In the first proposition, good is the predi- 
cate ; in the second proposition, mortal is the predicate. 

Or, a word which qualifies or limits a noun is called an Ad- 
jective ; as, " Wise men ;" "Virtuous women ;" "Seven chil- 
dren;" "This apple." For the Article, see § 283. 

III. A word which can be used instead of a noun, as either 
the subject or the predicate of a proposition, is called a Pronoun ; 
as, " The man is happy ; he is benevolent." Here he is used in- 
stead of man as the subject of the proposition. "I am he." Here 
he is used with the verb to be as the predicate of the proposi- 
tion. 

Or, a word used instead of a noun is called a Pronoun : as, "1 
went to London;" "Thou hast done a good action;" "He will 
return." 

IY. A word which can by itself form the copula of a proposi- 
tion, or which can by itself form both the copula and the predi- 
cate of a proposition, is called a Yerb ; as, "Man is mortal;" 
" Man dies.'' 1 Here the substantive verb is forms the copula 
of the first proposition, and the common verb dies, equivalent 
to is dying, the copula and predicate of the second. See § 45. 

Or, a word which expresses an assertion is called a Yerb ; as, 
" God is;" " The sun shines ;" " John struck Thomas." 

Y. A word which can not by itself form a constituent part 
of a simple proposition, but which can combine with verbs, and 
adjectives, and other adverbs to modify their meaning, is called 
an Adverb ; as, " He reads correctly ;" " He was exceedingly 
careful ;" " He does tolerably well." 

Or, a word which qualifies a verb or an adjective is called an 
Adverb ; as, " John struck Thomas rashly ;" " The sun shines 
brightly ;" " He is more prudent than his neighbor." 

VI. A word which by itself can not form a constituent 
part of a simple proposition, but which can combine with 



240 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

nouns and pronouns to express some relation, is called a Prep- 
osition ; as, " Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus, was born at 
Alopece." 

Or, a word which connects an object with a verb or an ad- 
jective is called a Preposition ; as, " He went through New 
York ;" " He belongs to no party;" " He is wise for himself." 

VII. A word which can connect two propositions without 
making a part of either, is called a Conjunction ; as, "The sun 
shines and the sky is clear ;" " He begged for aid because he 
was in distress." 

Or, a word which connects two sentences or parts of sen- 
tences is called a Conjunction ; as, " John writes and Thomas 
reads ;" "I will visit him if he desires it." 

VIII. A word which can neither form a part of a proposi- 
tion nor connect two different propositions, but is thrown in to 
express some sudden thought or emotion, is called an Interjec- 
tion ; as, Oh ! pish ! fie ! 

Or, a word which expresses sudden emotion of the mind, and 
is not in grammatical construction with a sentence, is called an 
Interjection ; as, Ah ! pshaw ! alas ! 

In this classification we have given two definitions of the sev- 
eral parts of speech, the one founded on their relation to the 
proposition, and the other the common one. 



§ 241. All the parts of speech are divided into two classes, 
namely, Notional words and Relational words. 

Notional words are those which express notions, that is, ideas 
of beings or actions formed in the mind. They are, 1. Nouns ; 
2. Adjectives ; 3. Verbs ; 4. Adverbs, expressing the manner, 
time, or place of an action; as, He writes well ; he came early; 
he went eastward. 

Relational words are those words which do not express a no- 
tion or idea, but merely point out the relation between two no- 
tional words, or between a notional word and the speaker. They 
are, 1. Auxiliary verbs ; 2. Articles ; 3. Pronouns ; 4. Numerals ; 
5. Prepositions ; 6. Conjunctions ; 7. Certain adverbs, called re- 
lational adverbs. 



THE PARTS OF SPEECH. 241 



§ 242. " Horne Tooke proves by an immense induction that 
ail particles, that is, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions, 
were originally nouns and verbs, and thence concludes that in 
reality they are so still, and that the ordinary division of the 
parts of speech is absurd ; keeping out of sight as self-evident 
the other premiss, which is absolutely false, viz., that the mean- 
ing of a word, now and forever, must be that which it or its 
root originally bore."- — See "Whately's Logic. While it is con- 
ceded that his researches have thrown a flood of light upon that 
class of words, we should not allow ourselves to be deceived by 
the fallacy of his conclusions. Undoubtedly there are great dif- 
ficulties in the application of the principles of classification to 
particular words. The same words which belonged to one class 
at one period in the history of the language, may at another pe- 
riod belong to another class. Thus the word gif was at one 
period a verb, and at another is, in a form slightly changed (if), 
a conjunction. The same word may, in different situations, be- 
long to different classes. Thus the word that is in one situa- 
tion a pronoun, and in another a conjunction. So, too, the word 
love is in some situations a noun, and in other situations a verb. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER I. 

1. What is etymology'? 

2. Of what does grammatical etymology treat 1 

3. Of what does historical etymology treat? 

4. What are etymological forms 1 

5. What is classification, and what is a speech ? 

6. What is inflection ? Give an instance. 

7. What is a proposition ? 

8. Into how many parts is a proposition divided ? 

9. What is the basis of the classification of the parts of speech? 

10. What is the subject of a proposition? Wliat is the predicate? What 
the copula ? 

11. What word is a noun ? What word is an adjective ? 

12. What word is a pronoun ? What word is a verb ? 

13. What word is ,an adverb ? What word is a preposition ? 

14. What word is a conjunction ? What word is an interjection ? 

15. State Becker's classification. 

16. What do you say of Horne Tooke's views ? 



242 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 

§ 243. A Noun or Substantive is a word which can by itself, 
with all finite verbs, form the subject of a proposition, and with 
the verb to be can form the predicate of a proposition ; as, "Man 
dies." In this simple proposition, man is the subject. " Stand 
up ; I also am a man.'''' In this proposition, man is the predicate. 

Or, a Noun is the name of a person, place, or thing ; as, Plato, 
Boston, virtue. 

The word noun is from the Latin nomen, a. name, through 
the French nom. 

Substantive (Latin substantivus, substantia) strictly denotes 
that which stands under, or is a foundation of accidents or at- 
tributes, and which, therefore, may be considered as independ- 
ent, and may stand by itself. A substantive noun or a substan- 
tive is, then, a name which can stand by itself, in distinction 
from an adjective noun or an adjective. It is the name of an 
object of thought, whether perceived by the senses or the un- 
derstanding. The name of whatever exists, or is conceived to 
exist, is a noun. According to the classification of Becker, it is 
a notional word. Substantive and noun are, in common use, 
convertible terms. 

CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS. 

§ 244. I. Proper Nouns are the names of individual persons 
or things, and not of a species ; as, John, Philadelphia. Prop- 
er nouns are comparatively few in number. 

II. Common or Appellative Nouns are the names of a class of 
persons or things, or of an individual belonging to a class ; as, 
Man, a man; tree, a tree. Man and tree are classes ; a man, 
a tree, are individuals, each belonging to a class. The follow- 
ing are common nouns : 

1. An Abstract Noun is the name of a simple quality, action, 
or condition considered independently of the substance in which 
it inheres ; as, Wisdom, journey, brightness, friendship, ora- 
tory. Here we do not consider who has wisdom, or who travels, 
or what is bright, or who is a friend. 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 243 

2. A Concrete Noun is the name of the substance, and of 
the quality, action, or condition which inheres in the substance ; 
as, The wise; a traveler ; a friend ; London; Cicero. 

3. A Collective Noun is a name which, in the singular num- 
ber, denotes more than one ; as, An army, a company. 

4. Correlative Nouns are names of objects which are viewed 
as related to each other ; as, King and subject ; son said father, 

5. Participial Nouns are those which have the form of partici- 
ples, but perform the office of nouns ; as, Reading- is instructive ; 
the writing is legible. Reading and ivriting are abstract nouns* 

6. Diminutive' Nouns are those which are derived from other 
nouns, and which express some diminution of the original mean- 
ing ; as, Satchel from sack ; duckling from duck. See § 423, 

7. Material Nouns are the names of materials, that is, of 
things which produce no idea of individuality, but only an ag- 
gregate notion ; as, Water, loam, milk. 

Other parts of speech, and even the letters of the alphabet, 
are treated as nouns when they are made the subject of a verb, 
or the object of a verb or preposition; as, " The learned testi- 
fy ;" " The lies and shes will all be there ;" " In that sentence 
the critic struck out on and introduced of f " Q is in that 
word preferable to au ;" "Mind your p> s and q's;" "Your if 
is a mighty peacemaker." 

Proper Nouns in the plural number, or with an article pre- 
fixed, become common nouns; as, " The Howards;" "He is 
the Cicero of his age." The term proper is from being proper^ 
that is, peculiar to the individual bearing the name. 

Common Nouns, with the definite article prefixed, sometimes 
become proper nouns ; as, The metropolis, the park. The term 
common is from being common to every individual comprised in 
the class. The term appellative, from appellare, to call, is ap- 
plied to common nouns, because they are the names by which 
classes of objects are called. 

GENDERS OF NOUNS. 

§ 245. Gtender is a grammatical distinction in nouns express- 
ing the natural distinction of sex. The word gender is from the 
French genre and*the Latin genus, and properly means kind. 

The Masculine Gtender denotes the male sex ; as, A man, 
a boy. 



244 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



The Feminine Gender denotes the female sex ; as, A woman, 

as, A chair, 



a girl. 



The Neuter Gender denotes the absence of sex ; 
a table. 

Gender, in the English language, is expressed, 

I. By DIFFERENCE OF TERMINATION. 



Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Abbot, 


Abbess. 


Heritor, 


Heritrix. 


Actor, 


Actress. 


Hero, 


Heroine. 


Adjutor, 


Adjutrix. 


Host, 


Hostess. 


Administrator, 


Administratrix. 


Hunter, 


Huntress. 


Adulterer, 


Adulteress. 


Idolater, 


Idolatress. 


Arbiter, 


Arbitress. 


Instructor, 


Instructress. 


Auditor, 


Auditress. 


Inventor, 


Inventress. 


Augustus, 


Augusta. 


Jew, 


Jewess. 


Author, 


Authoress. 


Landgrave, 


Landgravine. 


Baron, 


Baroness. 


Lion, 


Lioness. 


Benefactor, 


Benefactress. 


Margrave, 


Margravine. 


Carl, 


Carlin. 


Marquis, 


Marchioness. 


Caterer, 


Cateress. 


Mayor, 


Mayoress. 


Chanter, 


Chantress. 


Minister, 


Ministress. 


Conductor, 


Conductress. 


Monitor, 


Monitress. 


Count, 


Countess. 


Negro, 


Negress. 


Czar, 


Czarina. 


Ogre, 


Ogress. 


Dauphin, 


Dauphin ess. 


Palsgrave, 


Palsgravine. 


Deacon, 


Deaconess. 


Patron, 


Patroness. 


Director, 


Directress. 


Peer, 


Peeress. 


Don, 


Donna. 


Poet, 


Poetess. 


Duke, 


Duchess. 


Porter, 


Portress. 


Editor, 


Editress. 


Priest, 


Priestess. 


Elector, 


Electress. 


Prince, 


Princess. 


Embassador, 


Embassadress. 


Prior, 


Prioress. 


Emperor, 


Empress. 


Prophet, 


Prophetess. 


Enchanter, 


Enchantress. 


Protector, 


Protectress. 


Executor, 


Executrix. 


Signore, 


Signora. 


Founder, 


Foundress. 


Shepherd, 


Shepherdess. 


Gaffer, 


Gammer. 


Songster, 


Songstress. 


Giant, 


Giantess. 


Sorcerer, 


Sorceress. 


God, 


Goddess. 




j Sultaness. 


Goodman, 


Goody. 


Sultan, 


1 Sultana. 


G overnor, 


Governess. 


Tailor, 


Tailoress. 


Heir, 


Heiress. 


Testator, 


Testatrix. 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 



245 



Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Tiger, 


Tigress. 


Victor, 


Victress. 


Traitor, 


Traitress. 


Viscount, 


Viscountess. 


Tutor, 


Tutoress. 


Votary, 


Votress. 


Tyrant, 


Tyranness. 


Widower, 


Widow. 



This termination of ess has been borrowed from the French 
esse and ice, which they took from the Latin issa and ix : Ab- 
batissa, Latin; abbasse, Old English; abbess, English. So 5 
Actrix, actrice, actress. These terminations are all of Norman 
descent, unknown to the ancient Saxons. The original of this 
termination may be run up to the Greek feminine termination 
-£C, -iooa : 7Tpo(j)rjrig, Latin prophetissa, French prophetisse, Old 
English prophetesse, modern prophetess. 

In donna there is the Spanish, in heroine the Greek, in land- 
gravine the German, in signora the Italian, in Augusta the 
Latin form. 

In some cases there is simply an addition to the masculine, 
as prophet, prophetess. In other cases there is a change of some 
letter or letters from the masculine, as porter, portress. 

II. By distinct words, namely, by those that have no etymo- 
logical relation to each other. 



Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Masculine. 


Feminine, 


Bachelor, 


Maid, Spinster. 


Lad,. 


Lass. 


Beau, 


Belle. 


Lord, 


Lady. 


Boar, 


Sow. 


Man, 


Woman. 


Boy, 


Girl. 


Master, 


Mistress. 


Brother, 


Sister. 


Milter, 


Spawner. 


Buck, 


Doe. 


Nephew, 


Niece. - 


Bull, 


Cow. 


Papa, 


Mamma. 


Bullock, 


Heifer. 


Rake, 


Jilt. 


Cock, 


Hen. 


Ram, 


Ewe. 


Colt, 


Filly. 


Rufl, 


Reeve. 


Dog, 


Bitch. 


Sir, 


Madam. 


Drake, 


Duck. 


Sire, 


Madame. 


Earl, 


Countess. 


Sire (a horse), 


Dam. 


Father, 


Mother. 


Sloven, 


Slut. 


Friar, Monk, 


Nun, 


Son, 


Daughter 


Gander, 


Goose. 


Stag, 


Hind. 


Gentleman, 


Lady. 


Steer, 


Heifer. 


Hart, 


Roe. 


Swain, 


Nymph. 


Horse, 


Mare. 


Uncle, 


Aunt. 


Husband, 


Wife. 


Wizard, 


Witch. 



246 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



III. By COMPOSITION. 






Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Masculine. 


Feminint. 


Brid egroom, 


Bride. 


Male relations, 


Female relation 


Buck-rabbit, 


jDoe-rabbit. 


Mankind, 


Womankind. 


Cock- sparrow, 


Hen- sparrow. 


Man-servant, 


Maid-servant. 


Gentleman, 


Gentlewoman. 


Merman, 


Mermaid. 


He-bear, 


She-bear. 


Moor-cock, 


Moor-hen. 


He-goat, 


She -goat. 


Mr. Webster, 


Mrs. "Webster. 


Jack-ass, 


Ass. 


Yeacock, 


Teahen. 


Land/ore?, 


luandlady. 


Schoolmaster, 


Schoolmistress. 


Male, 


.Female. 


Serving-man, 


Serving-woman. 


Male child, 


Female child. 


Tom-eat, 


Cat. 



ADDITIONAL FACTS. 

§ 246. The names of males are masculine ; the names of fe- 
males, feminine ; as, John, Mary. 

The masculine and the feminine pronouns express the gen- 
der ; as, " Call the witness — him who first gave his testimony ;" 
" I asked the parent to restrain her child." 

1. Some words have the same termination for "both masculine 
and feminine. These are said to he of the common gender ; as, 
Parent, guardian, cousin, student, botanist, witness, neighbor, 
servant, friend. 

2. Some words are used only in the feminine ; as, Laundress, 
seamstress, brunette, doivager, jointress, mantua-maker , mil- 
liner, shrew, virago, syren, amazon, vixen, spinster. 

3. Some masculine words are, hy extension, applied to the 
whole species ; as, Man, to denote the human race, females as 
w T ell as males. Some feminine words are, in like manner, used 
for the whole species ; as, Goose, duck. 

4. The words Infant, child, involve so little of the idea of 
intelligence and of personality in them, and the sex being so 
often unknown to the speaker, that they are not unfrequently 
used in the neuter gender ; as, " The infant raised its loving 
hands to the cheek of its mother ;" " the child clung to the neck 
of its mother." 

5. The masculine term has the general meaning expressing 
both male and female, and is always employed when the office, 
occupation, or profession, and not the sex of the individual, is 
chiefly to be expressed. The feminine term is used in those 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 247 

cases only when discriminations of sex are indispensably neces- 
sary. This is illustrated by the following examples : If I say 
" The poets of the age are distinguished more by correctness of 
taste than by sublimity of conception," I clearly include in the 
term poet both male and female writers of poetry. If I say 
" She is the "best poetess of the country," I assign her the supe- 
riority over those of her own sex. If I say " She is the best poet 
of the country," I pronounce her superior to all other writers of 
poetry, both male and female. 

ENGLISH GENDER, PHILOSOPHIC. 

§ 247. There are, strictly speaking, but two sexes; yet, for 
convenience, the neuter (neither of the two) is classed with the 
genders. In this distribution the English language follows the 
order of nature, and is philosophically correct. In the Grreek, 
Latin, and Anglo-Saxon, the gender is determined by the term- 
ination. In the French, the Italian, the Portuguese, and the 
Hebrew, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. 

As sex is a natural distinction, and as gender is a grammati- 
cal one, we find they do not exactly coincide with each other. 
Thus, gladius, &-sword, is of the masculine gender in Latin ; 
and hasta, a lance, is of the feminine gender. In Grerman, 
weih, a woman, is neuter. Languages which form the genders 
of nouns on terminations are full of inconsistencies, laying down 
rules apparently for the purpose of nullifying them by numerous 
exceptions. As gender in the English language is founded on 
distinction of sex, all objects not male and female are, in history, 
in philosophy, in common conversation, spoken of as of the neu- 
ter gender. 

ENGLISH GENDER, POETIC. 

§ 248. In those languages which form the distinction of gen- 
der on terminations, inanimate objects are, in plain prose, spoken 
of as male or female simply upon grammatical grounds. The 
English language is more animated and poetic, inasmuch as it 
admits of more frequent personifications. Hence what in the 
French is prose, is in the English poetry. In animated dis- 
course, in poetry and eloquence, objects are personified, and the 
masculine or feminine gender is attributed to them on the ground 
of some artificial association, as in the following examples : 



248 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

" As when the sun, new risen, 
Looks through the misty horizontal air, 
Shorn of Aw beams." Milton. 

" Of law, no less can be acknowledged than that her seat is 
the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world. All 
things in heaven and earth do her homage ; the very least as 
feeling her care, and the greatest as not exempted from her 
power." — Hooker, Eccl. Polity, book i., 16. 

The classical languages represented love, under the masculine 
gender, as a playful boy. English poets have followed their ex- 
ample : 

" Love in my bosom, like a bee, 
Doth suck his sweet ; 
Now with his wings he plays with me, 
Now with his feet." Lodge. 

If for his and her, in these passages, you substitute its, or 
translate them into languages in which gender is formed by 
termination, you destroy the images, and reduce poetry and elo- 
quence to mere prose and common discourse. 

GROUNDS FOR A CHOICE OF GENDER IN PERSONIFI- 
CATION. 

§ 249. The current statement is, that such substantives as 
were conspicuous for the attributes of imparting or communi- 
cating, which were by nature active, strong, and efficacious, 
were considered as masculine. 

On the contrary, such were considered as feminine as were 
oonspicuous for the attributes either of receiving, of containing, 
or of producing, or which had more of the passive in their nature 
than of the active, or which were peculiarly beautiful or amiable. 

Upon these principles, the sun was considered as masculine, 
the moon as feminine. 

Besides this statement, to which there are many exceptions, it 
should be mentioned that the English language, derived, as it is, 
from the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon, seems to inherit, to some 
extent, the habit of both languages in respect to gender, and to 
retain in individual words the gender of the words from which 
they were severally derived. Thus natura, in Latin, is femi- 
nine ; and nature is feminine in English, when personified. 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 249 

Winter, in Anglo-Saxon, is masculine ; and winter is masculine 
in English, when personified. 

Cobbett remarks : " And you know our country folks in 
Hampshire call almost every thing he or she. 11 The same 
seems to have heen the fact with the early language-makers of 
the world. As we have inherited a portion of their language, so 
we find in" our own the remains of ancient gender. 

NUMBERS OF NOUNS. 

§ 250. Number is the distinction between one and more than 
one, usually expressed by some difference in termination. 

There are two numbers, the singular and the plural. 

The singular number denotes one object ; as, Book, pen, a 
man. 

The plural number denotes more than one object ; as, Books, 
pens, the men. 

FORMATION OF THE PLURAL. 

§ 251 . In most nouns the plural number is, in the spoken lan- 
guage, formed from the singular, by the addition of the sound of 
s in seal, or of z in zeal, or of that of the syllable ez ; as, Stack, 
stacks ; stag, stags ; stage, stag-es. 

I. The plural number of nouns is generally expressed in the 
written language by the addition of the letter 5 to the singular ; 
as, Chief, chiefs ; pin, pins ; key, keys ; folio, folios ; muse, 
muses. 

Nouns in the spoken language ending with a sound which 
will not unite with that s, add the sound of ez to express the 
plural; as, Lens, lens-es ; brush, brush-es ; church, church-es ; 
box, box-es. 

II. In the written language, nouns ending with 5, sh, ch, x, 
z, add es to express the plural ; as, Lens, lens-es ; brush, brush- 
es ; church, church-es ; box, box-es; phiz, phiz-es. Nouns 
ending with ch pronounced like k form their plurals by the ad- 
dition of s ; as, Monarch, monarchs. 

III. Nouns ending in y, after a consonant, change y into ies 
to form the plural ; as, Glory, glories ; vanity, vanities ; col- 
loquy, colloquies. In the last word qu is treated as one con- 
sonant- 



250 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Formerly the singular number of this class of words ended in 
ie ; as, Glorie, vanitie. In the formation of the plural they 
followed the common rule. In the process of time ie was 
changed into y in the singular, while the ancient form of the 
plural was retained. 

Nouns ending in i generally form their plural by the addition 
of es ; as, Alkali, alkalies ; houri, houries ; salmagundi, sal- 
ma gundies. 

IV. Nouns ending in o, preceded by a consonant, generally 
form their plural in es ; as, Hero, heroes; cargo, cargoes; 
negro, negroes : es was probably used instead of s as an ortho- 
graphical expedient to indicate the long sound of o. 

To this rule there are many exceptions ; as, Cantos, centos, 
grottos, juntos, duodecimos, octavos, quartos, solos, tyros, me- 
mentos. Proper names form their plural by the addition of s ; 
as, Cato, Catos ; Scipio, Scipios. 

V. Certain nouns ending in / or fe form their plurals by 
changing/ or fe into ves ; as, Loaf, loaves ; ivife, wives. F 
in the singular is changed into v in the plural, not from any dif- 
ficulty in pronouncing the sound of/ with that of 5, since they 
are both surd consonants, but because /in the Anglo-Saxon had, 
in the end of words, the power of v ; so that, instead of the plu- 
ral form being changed, it is probable that the singular has been 
modified. Thus we have calf, calves ; elf, elves ; half, 
halves ; leaf, leaves ; loaf loaves ; self, selves ; sheaf, sheaves ; 
thief, thieves ; tuolf ivolves ; and the Norman word beef, 
beeves ; also life, lives ; knife, knives ; wife, wives. 

Other nouns ending in / and fe are regular in the formation 
of the plural, namely, by the addition of s to the singular ; as, 
Grief, griefs ; staff, staffs (and staves) ; turf, turfs (and 
turves) ; strip, strips ; fife, fifes. 

The original pronunciation in the spoken language was that 
of s in the plural, but by a euphonic change the sound of surd 
s has been converted into that of vz sonant. 

YI. Certain nouns form their plurals in en or n ; as, Ox, ox- 
en ; hose, hos-en. In the Anglo-Saxon, no termination of the 
plural number was more common than n ; as, Tungen, tongues. 
Of this termination we have remains in the words quoted ; and 
also in shoe, shoon ; eye, eyen or eyne ; house, housen ; ivelken. 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 



251 



VII. Certain nouns form their plurals by a change of vowel ; 
as, Man, men, Anglo-Saxon man, men ; woman, women, Anglo- 
Saxon ivimman, wimmen ; tooth, teeth, Anglo-Saxon toth, teth ; 
mouse, mice, Anglo-Saxon mus, mys ; louse, lice, Anglo-Saxon 
lus, lys ; goose, geese, Anglo-Saxon gos, ges ; sow, anciently 
soiven, swine ; cow, anciently cowen, kine. Analogous to these 
are the following words from the Anglo-Saxon : Freond, frynd, 
friend, friends ; feond, fynd, foe, foes ; hoc, bee, hook, hooks ; 
broc, brec, hreeches ; turf, tyrf, turf, turfs or turves. 

Mussulman, Turcoman, talisman, caiman, form their plu- 
rals by the addition of s ; as, Mussulmans, Turcomans, talis- 
mans, caimans. They are not compounds of the word man. 



DOUBLE FORMS OF THE PLURAL. 

§ 232. Some nouns have a double form of the plural. Child, 
plural child-er ; er is an ancient plural termination. Child-er- 
en; -en is another plural termination ; children = childeren has 
a double form of the plural. So brother, by a change of vowel, 
br ether ; next, by the addition of -en. As children is a double 
form of one sort (r-\-n), so peasen=pulse is a double form of 
another sort (s-\-en) ; pea, pea-s, pea-s-en. Chick, plural 
chick-en ; double plural chick-en-s. 

Some nouns have two plurals, with different significa- 
tions. 



Singular. 

Brother, 

Cow, 

Die, 

Fish, 

Fowl, 

Genius, 

Index, 

Pea, 

Penny, 

Sow, 



Brothers (of the same par- 
ents), 
Cows, 

Dies (for coining), 
Fishes (individuals), 
Fowls, 

Geniuses (men of genius), 
Indexes (tables of contents), 
Peas (individuals), 
Pennies (coins), 
Sows, 



Brethren (of the same so- 
ciety). 
Kine = cows. 
Dice (for gaming). 
Fish (the species). 
Fowl (the species). 
Genii (imaginary spirits). 
Indices (signs in algebra). 
Pease (the species). 
Pence (the value). 
Swine (the species). 



FOREIGN WORDS. 

§ 253. I. Many foreign words retain their original plurals, 
though the tendency of the language is to English forms. In 



252 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



respect to words in common use, this tendency should be en- 



couraged. 








Singular. 


Plural. 


Singular. 


Plural. 


Arcanum, 


Arcana. 


Larva, 


Larvae. 


Beau, 


Beaux. 


Madam, 


Mesdames. 


Crisis, 


Crises. 


Magus, 


Magi. 


Ephemeris, 


Ephemerides. 


Monsieur, 


Messieurs. 


Genus, 


Genera. 


Phenomenon, 


Phenomena. 


Hypothesis, 


Hypotheses. 


Vortex, 


Yortices. 



II. Certain foreign words have both an English plural and" 

the ORIGINAL ONE. 



Bandit (banditto), 

Cherub, 

Dogma, 

Memorandum, 

Rabbi, 

Seraph, 

Virtuoso, 



English Plural. 

Bandits, 

Cherubs, 

Dogmas, 

Memorandums, 

Rabbis, 

Seraphs, 

Virtuosos, 



Foreign Plural. 

Banditti. 

Cherubim. 

Dogmata. 

Memoranda. 

Rabbins. 

Seraphim, 

Virtuosi. 



ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS. 

§ 254. I. Some nouns have no plural terminations : 1. Those 
which denote things measured or weighed ; as, Rye, barley, 
flax, flour, tallow, cider, gold, coffee, fennel. But, to express 
varieties, some have plural forms ; as, Sugar, sugars ; ivine, 
wines. 2. Names of abstract qualities ; as, Harshness, pru- 
dence, meekness, sloth, decorum. To this there are some ex- 
ceptions, as we say affinities, gravities. 

II. Some nouns denote plurality without a plural termina- 
tion ; as, Horse, foot, infantry, cavalry, pulse, cattle. Collect- 
ive nouns in the singular form indicate plurality when they re- 
fer to the individuals ; as, "The committee were divided." In 
other cases they put on the plural form ; as, The committees. 

III. Some nouns have the same form in both numbers ; as, 
Deer, sheep, trout, salmon, vermin, cannon, shot, head, sail, 
weight ; as, Twenty weight. Cannon has sometimes the plu- 
ral form, so has shot and brick. In the Saxon Chronicle it is 
said, " He heald that Arcebisceop-rice eighteen year." In the 
same work occurs the expression forty-one winter. Yet, in the 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 253 

Anglo-Saxon, year and ivinter had plural terminations. Phrases 
like " a twelvemonth" and " a fortnight" are sometimes used. 

IV. Some nouns have the plural termination only ; as, 
Annals, antipodes, archives, ashes, assets, bitters, bowels, 
breeches, compasses, clothes, calends, customs, drawers, downs, 
dregs, eaves, embers, entrails, fetters, filings, forceps, goggles, 
goods, hatches, hose, ides, lees, matins, mallows, news, nippers, 
nones, nuptials, pincers, pinchers, pliers, reins, snuffers, shears, 
scissors, shambles, spectacles, staggers, thanks, thank is obso- 
lete, tidings, tongs, troivsers, tweezers, vespers, vitals, victuals, 
yellows. Letters in the sense of literature, and manners in 
the sense of behavior, may he added to the list. These, in con- 
struction, are used in the plural number. 

Y. Some nouns have the plural form, but are often usei> 
in construction in the singular number. Alms was originally 
a noun singular, being a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon almesse. 
The s belonged to the word just as s in goose does. " This 
almesse should thou do of thy proper things." — Chaucer. Pains 
has the plural form ; when preceded by much, it should have a 
singular verb. News has the plural form, but is used in the 
singular as well as in the plural. Odds is used in both the 
singular and plural. The same is true of galloivs and bellows, 
though gallows has gallowses. Means is used in both the 
singular and the plural, though it has a singular form, mean, 
which is sometimes used. Billiards has the sense of a game 
containing a unity of idea. Riches seems to have been the 
French richesse, and therefore strictly no more plural than gen- 
tlenesse. Ethics, metaphysics, and other similar words, com- 
prehending each the whole system of a particular science, do not 
convey the idea of parts or particular branches, but of a whole 
collectively, and hence seem to be treated as words belonging 
to the singular number ; they are also used as plurals. 

VI. Some nouns have sometimes the same form for both 
numbers, and at other times a regular plural form ; such 
are dozen, pair, brace, couple, score. " He bought ten doz- 
en ;" "he bought them by dozens." Under this description 
may be placed such words as youth, heathen, which, in a sin- 
gular form, can enter into either a singular or a plural construc- 
tion, and yet can take a plural form ; as, A heathen rages ; the 
heathen rage ; the heathens rage. 



254 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

YII. " Compounds, consisting of two or more words connected 
"by a hyphen, are generally composed either of two nouns, of 
which one is used in the sense of an adjective, as man-trap, 
where man is really an adjective ; or of a noun and adjective, 
as court-martial ; or of a noun and some expression having the 
force of an adjective, as father-in-law, where in-law has the 
force of an adjective as much as legal. In all these compounds 
the sign of the plural is added to that part of the compound 
which really constitutes the noun, whether at the end or not; 
as, Man-traps, courts-martial, fathers-in-law ," cousins ger- 
man, outgoings, queen consorts, Te Deums. " In forming 
the possessive case, the rule is different, the sign of the possess- 
ive being uniformly suffixed to the compound expression ; thus, 
/ 'at her -in-law, plural/ 'athers-in-laiv, possessive father-in-law's" 
— Hart's Grammar, p. 42. 

Compounds united without a hyphen follow the general rule ; 
as, spoonfuls, overflowings. 

YIII. Proper nouns, when used in the plural number, follow 
the rule, for the most part, of common nouns ; as, Canada, the 
Canadas ; Carson, the C arsons ; Rogers, the Roger ses ; Al- 
leghany, the Alleghanies ; India changes the vowel, Indies. 

IX. "Words used as mere words follow the general rule ; as, 
The ins and the outs ; the yeas and the nays. 

X. When a title and a name are used together, some gram- 
marians recommend that the title only have the plural form ; 
as, the Misses Lyman ; others, that both have the plural form ; 
as, the Misses Lymans ; and others, that the name only have 
the plural form ; as, the Miss Lymans. The last is the correct 
form if the two words are viewed as a compound term; the 
first, if they are viewed as in opposition ; the second, if they are 
viewed as if in classical languages. The last, namely, the Miss 
Lymans, is sanctioned by the highest authority. 

COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY. 

§ 255. Some ancient languages, as the Anglo-Saxon, the Moe- 
so-Grothic, and the Greek and Hebrew, the old and the present 
Icelandic, in addition to the singular and the plural, had the 
Dual, which denotes two objects, or a pair. The English has 
no dual. Dual is from the Latin word duo — two. Thus, in 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 255 

the Anglo-Saxon, pu, the singular = thou ; git, the dual = ?/e 
two ; ge, the plural — ye. We have the remains of ancient 
number in the examples given : of the Hebrew, as in cherubim ; 
of the Greek, as in phenomena ; of the Latin, as in larvce ; of 
the Anglo-Saxon, as in oxen. "We have also borrowed certain 
forms of number from modern languages. See Examples 
above. 

CASES OF NOUNS. 

§ 256. Case denotes the relation which a noun sustains to 
other words in the sentence, expressed sometimes by its term- 
ination and sometimes by its position. Nouns have three cases, 
the Nominative, the Possessive or Genitive, and the Objective 
or Accusative. 

The Nominative Case is the noun in its simple form, and de- 
notes the relation of the subject to the finite verb; as, " Man 
speaks ;" "John is loved." 

The Possessive or Genitive Case denotes the relation of pos- 
session or origin, and is formed by adding to the simple form the 
letter s, with an apostrophe before it; as, "Man's virtue;" 
"Milton's poems." 

The Objective or Accusative Case is the noun in its simple 
form, and denotes the relation of the object to the verb, or the 
complement of a preposition; as, " He struck the soldier;" 
u he lives in Boston." To these cases might be added the Da- 
tive and the Yocative. See § 261. 

ORIGIN^OF THE TERM. 

§ 257. Case is from the Latin word casus, a falling. The 
cases were supposed to fall or decline from 
the Nominative, which was written in a per- 
pendicular, and therefore called rectus casus, 
the right case, while the others were written 
from that at different angles, and therefore 
called obliqui casus, the oblique cases, as in 
the opposite diagram. ^^ aw. 




256 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



258. 


DECLENSION OP 


ENGLISH NOUNS. 




1. Book. 


2. Man. 




Sing. Plur. 


Sing. Plur. 


Nom. 


, Book, Books. 


Man, Men. 


Poss. 


, Book's, Books'. 


Man's, Men's. 


Obj., 


Book, Books. 


Man, Men. 




3. Fly. 


4. Fox. 




Sing. Plur. 


Sing. Plur. 


Nom., 


, Fly, Flies. . 


Fox, Foxes. 


Poss.. 


, Fly's, Flies'. 


Fox's, Foxes*. 


Obj., 


Fly, Flies. 


Fox, Foxes. 




5. Charles. 


6. Goodness. 




Sing. Plur. 


Sing. Plur. 


Nom.. 


Charles, Charleses. 


Goodness, "Wanting, 


Poss., 


Charles's, Charleses'. 


Goodness', " 


Obj., 


Charles, Charleses. 


Goodness, " 



INFLECTION OF THE POSSESSIVE. 

§ 259. I. Generally, when the singular ends in s, or in letters 
of a similar sound, and the next word begins with s, or when 
there is an s also in the penult, the apostrophic s is omitted, but 
the apostrophe is added ; as, For righteousness' sake ; for con- 
science' sake ; Moses 1 disciples ; Peleus' son. See § 483. 

II. When the letter s, added as the sign of the possessive, 
will coalesce with the terminating sound of the noun, it is pro- 
nounced in the same syllable, as Jolirts ; but if it will not co- 
alesce, it adds another syllable to the word, as in the example 
above, Charles' } s, pronounced as if written Charlesis. 

III. When the nominative plural ends in s, the possessive 
plural is formed by adding only an apostrophe ; when it does 
not end in s, the possessive plural is formed by adding both the 
apostrophe and the s. See examples of declension. 



TRANSITION FROM THE ANGLO-SAXON GENITIVE. 

§ 260. In the Anglo-Saxon, the genitive termination of many 
nouns in the singular number was es, is, or ys ; as, Godcs, 
leafes, mirthis, mannys. 

In the 16th century, the words his, her, and their were in- 
troduced into use instead of the genitive case : 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 257 

" Where is this mankind ? Who lives to age 
Fit to be made Methusalem his page ?" 

Dr. Donne. 

" And by Ronix her womanish subtlety" — Ronixis or Ronix's 
womanish subtlety. " About the Hollanders their throwing off 
the monarchy of Spain." " My paper is "Ulysses his bow, in 
which every man of wit or learning may try his strength." 
Addison, in this quotation, uses this form of expression, and 
elsewhere justifies it. " The same single letter s on many occa- 
sions does the office of a whole word, and represents the his and 
her of our forefathers." — Sped., No. 207. 

It appears that as cases gradually melted away from the lan- 
guage, his took the place of is, ys, es, from its resemblance to 
them in sound, and that her and their were introduced by an 
imitative process. 

Yet opposition had been made to this innovation. " Ben 
Jonson, in his Grammar, which came out in 1640, after his 
death, says, i Nouns ending in x, s, sh, g, and ch, take to the 
genitive singular i, and to the plural e, which distinctions, not 
observed, brought in first the monstrous syntax of the pronoun 
his joining with a noun betokening a possessor.' But this ' mon- 
strous syntax' became so general, that the republisher of Ben 
Jonson, in 1662, taking upon him to correct his author, auda- 
ciously and tacitly put in room of this passage, ' To the genitive 
cases of all nouns denoting a possessor is added 's, with an apos- 
trophe, thereby to avoid the gross syntax of the pronoun his join- 
ing with a noun ; as, The Emperor's court, not The Emperor 
his court ;' thus foisting in his own conviction that 9 s stands for 
his, and yet retaining the expression ' the gross syntax,'- he has 
made old Ben write nonsense." — See Cambridge Philological 
Museum, vol. i., p. 670. 

In the phrase "the queen's majesty," we see the absurdity 
of supposing that the possessive 's is equivalent to his. 

THE NUMBER OF CASES. 

§ 261. It has been a question how many cases should be ad- 
mitted in the English language. If a change of termination is 
essential to constitute a case, there are but two cases, the nom- 
inative and the possessive, which are the only two forms of the 

R 



258 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

noun ; as, John, John's. Indeed, strictly, there is but one ease 
ox falling from the nominative. 

But if, on the other hand, it should be claimed that the use 
of a preposition constitutes a case, then there must be as many 
cases as there are prepositions : above a man, beneath a man, 
within a man, without a man, must be cases as well as of a 
man, to a man, and from a man. 

Both in the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon, different cases are 
attributed to nouns when the terminations are the same. In 
practical grammar, we are therefore justified, on the ground of 
convenience, in admitting at least three cases, though there are 
but two terminations in nouns, especially as we must have three 
terminational cases in some of the pronouns. See § 293. 

One word of English is probably a true accusative in the 
strict sense of the term, viz., the word twain —two. 

Neut. Masc. Fern. 

Nom. and Ace, Twa, Twegen, Twa. 
Abl. and Dat., Twam, Twam, Twaem. 
Gen., Twegra, Twegra, Twega. 

Besides the nominative, genitive, and accusative cases, we 
have remnants of the dative form in the Anglo-Saxon language 
in the words ivhilom and seldom, as we have in the words him 
and whom. In the phrase " Give it him" we have a dative 
case. The objective case and the preposition to are often equiv- 
alent to the dative case in other languages. It might be a mat- 
ter of convenience to add the dative and vocative to the number 
of English cases. 

The following has been proposed : ^Nom., A man ; Gen., A 
man's ; Dat., A man; Accus., A man ; Voc, man ! A man (N.) 
may beat another man (A.) if he can, but it is A man's (G-.) 
part to give Him, i. e., A man (D.), fair play. Man ! (Y.) hold 
your hand. Here we have the agent, or nominative, that beats ; 
the patient, or accusative, that is beaten ; the person standing 
in the relation of possession, or genitive, and of giving, or dative ; 
finally, in that of being addressed by another, or vocative." 

IMPORT OF THE GENITIVE. 

§ 262. The import of the genitive case may often be express- 
ed by the particle of. Thus, for man's wisdom we can say the 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 259 

wisdom of man. This has been called the analytical, or the 
Norman possessive or genitive, and is commonly used, especially 
in the plural number, when the possessor is inanimate. A noun 
with the sign '5 is called the Saxon possessive, because it is a 
contraction of the Saxon genitive in es, is. The mark ' is called 
apostrophe, because it is a turning off or omission of the vowel 
e*or i. It is, however, used as the sign of the possessive case, 
where there is no omission of the vowel, as in the plural num- 
ber. It should be added, before closing this section, that though 
the import of the analytical genitive is often much the same as 
that of the Saxon genitive, it is often different. If, instead of 
Man/s first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree, 
Milton had written, Of the first disobedience of man, and that 
forbidden tree's fruit, his meaning would have been different 
from what it now is. He now calls on the Muse to sing of 
man's first act of disobedience as distinguished from all his oth- 
er acts, and the fruit of that forbidden tree as distinguished from 
all other trees ; whereas the other arrangement of the words 
would have laid the stress on man as distinguished from all oth- 
er beings, and on the fruit as distinguished from the rest of the 
tree. The Paradise Lost of Milton is not in import exactly 
the same as Milton h Paradise Lost. In the former, attention 
is called to the author ; in the latter, to the work. See Crom- 
bie's Etymology and Syntax. 

COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY. 

§ 263. The cases in the ancient languages were formed by 
varying the terminations, and thus expressing a few of the ob- 
vious and common relations. In the Latin language nouns 
have six cases ; in the Anglo-Saxon, four. 

The Latin word pater is declined as follows : 

Singular. Plural. 

Nominative, Pater, a father. Patres, fathers. 

Genitive, Patris, of a father. Patrum, of fathers. 

Dative, Patri, to a father. Patribus, to fathers. 

Accusative, Patrem, a father. P atres, fathers. 

Vocative, Pater, O father. Patres, O fathers. 

Ablative, Ysdie,from a father. Patribus, from fathers. 

The Anglo-Saxon word ende is declined as follows : 



260 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Singular. Plural. 

Norn. , Ende, an end. Endas, ends. 

Gen., Endis, of an end. Enda, of ends. 

Dat., Ende, to an end. Endum, to ends. 

Ace, Ende, an end. Endas, ends. 

In the following example we have nine cases of the Lapland- 
ish language, expressed by variable terminations : 

Norn., Joulke, afoot. Abl., J oulkest, from afoot. 

Gen., Joulken, of a foot. Priv., Joulket, without afoot. 

Dat., Joulkas, to afoot. Mid., Joulkin, with afoot. 

Ace., Joulken, afoot. hoc, Joulkesn, in afoot. 
Voc, Joulk, afoot. 

Some of the Indian dialects, instead of using inflections or 
prepositions to express the different relations, employ post-posi- 
tions ; as, Hhoda, a god ; hhoda-ka, of a god; hhoda-ko, to a 
god. See § 374. 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANCIENT AND MODERN 
LANGUAGES. 

§ 264. " There is nothing more certain than this, that the 
earlier we can trace back any one language, the more full, com- 
plete, and consistent are its forms ; that the later we find it ex- 
isting, the more compressed, colloquial, and business-like it has 
become. Like the trees of our forests, it grows at first wild, lux- 
uriant, rich in foliage, full of light and shadow, and flings abroad 
xn its vast branches the fruits of a youthful and vigorous na- 
ture ; transplanted to the garden of civilization, and trained for 
the purposes of commerce, it becomes regulated, trimmed, 
pruned; nature, indeed, still gives it life, but art prescribes the 
direction and extent of its vegetation. Always we perceive a 
compression, a gradual loss of fine distinctions, a perishing of 
forms, terminations, and conjugations in the younger state of 
the language. The truth is, that in a language, up to a certain 
period, there is a real indwelling vitality, a principle acting un- 
consciously, but perversively in every part : men wield tneir 
forms of speech as they do their limbs — spontaneously, knowing 
nothing of their construction, or the means by which these in- 
struments possess their power. It may be even said that the 
commencement of the age of self-consciousness is identical with 
the close of that of vitality in language." — Lond. Phil. SoCc 



THE NOUN OR SUBSTANTIVE. 261 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER II. 

1. Give the two definitions of a noun, and the derivation of the terms noun 
and substantive. 

2. What are proper nouns, and what are common nouns ? 

3. What is an abstract noun, and what is a concrete noun'? 

4. What is a collective noun, and what is a correlative noun ? 

5. What are participial nouns, and what are diminutive nouns, and what are 
material nouns ? 

6. In what case can the other parts of speech be made nouns ? 

7. In what cases do proper nouns become common nouns ? 

8. In what case does common nouns become proper nouns? 

9. What is gender, and what is the derivation of the term Gender ? 

10. How many genders are there, and what do they severally denote ? 

11. What are the three principal modes of expressing gender? 

12. Of what gender are the, names of males, and of what gender are the 
names of females ? 

13. What words have the same termination for both masculine and femi- 
nine, and of what gender are these words ? 

14. What words are used only in the feminine ? 

15. What masculine words are by extension applied to the whole species, 
and also what feminine words are in like manner applied to the whole species ? 

16. What is said of the word infant, child ? 

17. In what cases are masculine terms employed in preference to the fem- 
inine, and in what cases is the feminine term employed ? Give the examples., 

18. How does it appear that English gender is philosophic ? 

19. How does it appear that English gender is poetic ? 

20. What are the grounds for a choice of gender in personification % 

NUMBER. 

21. What is number, and how many numbers are there, and what do these 
numbers severally denote ? 

22. In the spoken language, how is the plural number formed? Give ex- 
amples. 

23. In the written language, how is the plural number expressed? Give 
examples. 

24. When nouns in the spoken language end with a sound that will not unite 
with that of s, how is the plural number formed ? Give examples. 

25. When nouns in the written language end in s, sh, ch, &, or z, how is 
the plural number formed ? Give examples. 

26. How do nouns ending in y, after a consonant, form the plural? • Give 
examples. 

27. How do nouns ending in i form their plurals? Give an example. 

28. How do nouns ending in o, preceded by a consonant, form their plu- 
rals ? Give an example. 

29. How do certain nouns in/ and fe form their plurals ; and how do other 
nouns in/ and fe form their plurals? 



262 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

30. Give an instance of a plural in n or en, and of a plural formed by a 
change of vowel. 

31. Give an instance of a double plural, and also of two plurals of the same 
word. 

32. What do you say of the plurals of foreign words ? 

33. Give an instance of a noun that has no plural termination ; and also 
of one that denotes plurality without a plural termination ; and also of a noun 
that has the same form in both numbers ; and also of a noun that has the plu- 
ral termination only ; and also of a noun that has the plural form, but is used 
in the singular. 

34. Give an instance of a noun which has the same form for both numbers, 
and yet is sometimes used in a regular plural form. 

35. Give the statement with respect to the plural form of compounds, and 
with respect to the plural form of proper nouns, and with respect to words 
used as mere words, and with respect to a title and a name used together. 

36. What languages had the dual number ? 

CASE. 

37. What is case, and how many cases are there ? 

38. Give the definition of each of the three cases, and the origin of the 
term. 

39. Give the declension of English nouns, and give the rules for the pos- 
sessive form. 

40. Describe the transition from the Anglo-Saxon genitive. 

41. Give the statement with respect to the number of cases. 

42. What is said of the import of the genitive 1 

43. How were cases in the ancient languages formed? 

44. What is the difference between ancient and modern languages in re- 
spect to their forms % 



THE ADJECTIVE. 263 



CHAPTER III. 

THE ADJECTIVE. 

§ 265. An Adjective is a word which can not, by itself, form 
the subject of a proposition, but which, with the verb to be, can 
form the predicate of a proposition; as, "Grod is good f "Man 
is mortal." In the first proposition, God is the predicate ; in 
the second, mortal is the predicate. 

Or, an Adjective is a word which qualifies or limits a noun ; 
as, A wise man ; virtuous women ; seven children. 

Adjectives, from the Latin word adjectivus [added to), have 
been called Attributives, because they denote qualities attributed 
to things. An adjective denotes a concrete quality of a noun, 
without any other circumstance. Thus, in the phrase " He is 
an eloquent man," the word eloquent withdraws the attention 
from every other circumstance, and fixes it upon his eloquence. 
It is sometimes called a noun adjective, because it is the name 
of a quality. Like the substantive, it is, according to the class- 
ification of Becker, a notional word. Unlike the Anglo-Saxon, 
the English adjective preserves the same form in both numbers, 
and in all genders and cases. See § 277. 

CLASSIFICATION. 

§ 266. I. A Proper Adjective is one that is derived from a 
proper name ; as, Roman, from Rome ; English, from England. 

II. A Common Adjective is one that is not derived from a 
proper name, and expresses quality ; as, Useful, industrious, 
frugal. 

III. A Numeral Adjective is one that expresses a definite 
number. There are three kinds of numeral adjectives, namely, 
Cardinal; as, One, tivo, three; Ordinal; as, First, second, 
third ; Multiplicative ; as, Single, double or two-fold, triple 
or three-fold. See § 280. 

IV. A Pronominal Adjective is one that partakes of the na- 
ture of a pronoun and an adjective, being sometimes used as the 
one, and sometimes as the other. The following have been 



264 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

called pronominal adjectives: This, that, these, those; each, 
every, either; much, many, few, several; all, none, any, one, 
other, another, such, some, both ; certain, divers, else ; former, 
latter, first, last ; neither, own, same, what, whatever, whatso- 
ever, which, whichever, whichsoever, &c. These words are oft- 
en classed with pronouns. Some of these are properly numer- 
als. See § 314. 

V. A Participial Adjective is one that has the form of a par- 
ticiple without the idea of time ; as, " A pleasing 1 person ;" " an 
amusing story." 

VI. A Compound Adjective is one that is made up of two or 
more words, usually joined by a hyphen ; as, " Sun-burnt hair ;" 
" love-lorn nightingale." 

OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS. 

. § 267. Adjectives have also been divided into, 

I. Descriptive Adjectives, which express some quality or con- 
dition of the noun ; as, " A good man ;" " an open book." 

II. Definitive Adjectives, which define or limit the meaning 
of the noun to which they are applied; as, " Several men;" 
" those books." 

Another division has been proposed, by which adjectives have 
been distributed into two classes. 

The First Class under this distribution are those which fix 
the attention on the quality or property which they describe, 
whether this property be an object of bodily sense, as green, 
loud, or of the mental perceptions and affections, as dear, kind, 
true. Among these, the most characteristic are those which are 
not obviously derived from any other word, as good, soft, bright. 
Words of this class do not contain in themselves any reference 
to any other word ; but we have various derivatives formed from 
them, as goodness, wisdom, soften, brighten, redden. 

The Second Class under this distribution are those which have 
a manifest and distinct reference to some primitive, either a 
concrete substantive, as wooden, fatherly, or to a verb, as tire- 
some, seemly. These may be called Adjectives of Relation. 
Various terminations are employed in the formation of such 
terms; some of Teutonic origin, as lovely, faithful, faithless, 
witty, sleepy, troublesome, sheepish, golden; others of Latin 



THE ADJECTIVE. 265 

extraction, as gracious, ethereal, angular, adamants, visionary, 
promissory, angeh'c, offensive, changeafrZe, accessing, and others. 
The characteristic of the present class of adjectives is, that they 
have a distinctly felt reference to their primitives. When, for 
instance, we speak of a beechen howl, of an insular climate, of 
fatherly duties, there is a reference, distinctly perceived, to the 
substantives from which the adjectives come, and we are con- 
scious that we mean a howl made of beech, the climate of an ■ 
island, the duties of a father. 

Adjectives of this class often express the material of which a 
thing is made, hy the addition of n or en ; as, Golden, brazen. 
Formerly this mode of derivation was more common than it is 
now ; as, Cedarn alleys; treen platters = wooden plates. 

But, as many words do not admit of the termination en, we 
use the substantive adjectively, without any change ; as, An 
iron crown ; a stone wall. The analogy of such cases leads us 
to do the same even where the adjective exists. 

Compound words and phrases are used in the same way. 
Falstaff tells Prince Hal to "go hang himself in his own heir- 
apparent garters ;" and Camphell uses similar forms in the line 
" Like angel visits, few and far between." 

THE DERIVATION OF ADJECTIVES. 

§ 268. Adjectives are not derived from substantives only, hut 
from other words, and especially from verbs. Of this kind we 
have hut few English adjectives, unless we consider participles 
as such. In most cases we have the alternative between a Lat- 
in adjective and an English participle. We speak of hereditary 
rights, and of rights inherited from our ancestors ; of native tal- 
ents, or of talents born with a man ; of derivative claims, or 
claims flowing from others ; of striking or of impressive de- 
scriptions ; of a radiant or a beaming countenance. Words like 
these, in pairs, of which one is of Latin and the other of Saxon 
origin, are not exactly synonymous. Thus, terrestrial is not 
precisely equivalent to earthy, nor sylvan to woody, nor feminine 
to womanly, nor timely to temporary. In a language which so 
much borrows its adjectives from another, their meaning is nat- 
urally liable to be mistaken by those whose learning does not 
extend beyond their mother tongue. 



266 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Nothing is more common among uneducated writers than this 
confounding of the meaning of adjectives. 

Some adjectives of English form and origin have fallen into 
disuse in modern times, as Latin radicals and terminations have 
become more familiar. This process, however, like most of those 
which occur in the progress of language, seems to have gone on 
very capriciously. "We use fatherly, motherly, brotherly, as 
• readily as paternal, maternal, fraternal. Sisterly has no Lat- 
in equivalent. Sonly is never used, though filial does not fully 
represent it. Daughterly is not common. We sometimes meet 
with the phrase " daughterly house ;" that is, a house full of 
daughters. 

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES. 

§ 269. Those adjectives which denote variable qualities 
have three degrees of Comparison, the Positive, the Compara- 
tive, and the Superlative. Variable qualities are those which 
are capable of increase or diminution. 

simple or terminational comparison. 

§ 270. The Positive degree of the quality is expressed by the 
adjective in the simple form ; as, Wise, cold. 

The Comparative degree of the quality is expressed by adding 
r or er to the positive form ; as, Wiser, colder. 

The Superlative degree of the quality is expressed by adding 
st or est to the positive form ; as, Wisest, coldest. 

The comparative refers to two persons or things, and denotes 
a greater degree of a quality in the one than in the other. The 
superlative refers to more than two persons or things, and de- 
notes the utmost degree of a quality. 

All monosyllables admit of r, st, or er, est, and dissyllables 
when the addition may be easily pronounced. 

When adjectives end in y after a consonant, the y is dropped 
and i substituted before er and est ; as, Lofty, loftier, loftiest. 

compound comparison. 

§ 271. Every adjective susceptible of comparison may also be 
compared by the use of the adverbs more and most ; as, More 
wise, most wise. This mode of comparison is generally used in 



THE ADJECTIVE. 267 

the case of long words, for euphonic reasons, while the other is 
used in the case of short words. 

Diminution of quality, whether the adjective is of one syllable 
or more than one syllable, is formed by less and least ; as, Hap- 
py, less happy, least happy. The termination ~ish expresses a 
slight degree of a quality, as reddish. More, most, less, or leasts 
prefixed to an adjective, forms with it virtually a compound ad- 
jective. 

We thus have the means of denoting at least five varieties 
of quality ; as, Least happy, less happy, happy, more happy \ 
most happy. 

IRREGULAR COMPARISON. 

§ 272. The following adjectives have different words for 
expressing the different degrees of comparison : 

Positive. Comparative. Superlative. 

Good, Better, Best. 

Bad, evil, or ill, Worse, Worst. 

Much or many, More, Most. 

Little, Less, Lesser. Least. 

Good and better are related logically in the ideas they express, but 
not etymologically. They are related in their use, but not in their 
origin. Better and best have lost their positive, if they ever had 
any, which has been replaced by good, a word of a different origin. 
It is stated that the Persian language has beh—good, and better for 
the comparative. The same general account may be given of the 
relations oibad and worse, of many and more. They are etymologic- 
ally different words. It is also said that the Persian language has 
bad, and comparative badter. 

In other languages, the words corresponding to good, better, best, 
show a similar want of relationship in their origin. Icelandic god, 
bettri, bestr ; Mceso-Gothic goth, batiza, batist ; Danish god, bedre, 
beste ; Swedish god, bdttre, bast ; Dutch goed,beter, best ; Friesic god, 
bettre, beste ; Anglo-Saxon god, betra, betst. In Latin, as an equiva- 
lent for good, better, best, we have bonus, melior, optimus. 

Much is etymologically related to more. It is doubtful whether 
little and less are etymologically related to each other. 

IRREGULAR TERMINATIONS. 

§ 273. The following adjectives have irregular terminations 
for expressing the degrees of comparison : 



268 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



Positive. 


Comparative. 


Superlative. 


Aft, 


After, 


Aftermost. 


Far, 


Farther, 


Farthest, Farthermost. 


Fore, 


Former, 


Foremost, First. 


(Forth), 


Further, 


Furthest. 


Hind, 


Hinder, 


Hindermost, Hindmost. 


Late, 


Later, Latter, 


Latest, Last. 


Low, 


Lower, 


Lowest, Lowermost. 


Near, 


Nearer, 


Nearest, Next. 



Farther means more far or more distant. It is derived from 
the word far, which appears in the following forms : fai?ra, 
Moeso- Gothic ; feor, Anglo-Saxon ; fer, Old High- German. The 
proper comparative is formed without the th, which is inserted 
either because far-er is inharmonious, or from the word being 
confounded with further. Last is only a contraction of latest. 
By comparing this word with best, we discover that the sound 
of t has been lost. The full forms would be lat-est (latt-est) and 
bett-est. Some of these adjectives are redundant, though in 
most cases there is a difference of meaning. Thus, foremost re- 
fers to place ; first, to time ; latest, to time ; last, to order. 
Near, although in meaning an adjective of the positive degree, 
is, in respect to its form, a comparative. The Anglo-Saxon form 
is neah for the positive ; nea-rre, nea-r, and ny-r for the com- 
paratives. Hence nearer is, in respect to its form, a double 
comparative, nea-r-er. 



DEFECTIVE COMPARISON. 

§ 274. The following adjectives are defective in their com- 
parison : 

Positive. Comparative. 

Outer, Utter. 
Inner, 



Out (adv.), 
In (prep.), 
Up (adv.), 



Eld (obsolete), 



Rear, 
Front, 
Mid, 
Middle, 



Upper, 
Hither, 
Nether, 
Elder, 
Under, 



Superlative. 

Outermost, Utmost. 

Innermost, Inmost. 

Uppermost, Upmost. 

Hithermost. 

Nethermost. 

Eldest. 

Undermost. 

Rearmost. 

Frontmost. 

Midmost. 

Middlemost. 



THE ADJECTIVE. 



269 



Positive. 

Norths 

South, 

East y 

West, 

Northern, 

Southern, 

Eastern, 

Western, 



Comparative. 



Superlative. 

Northmost. 

Southmost. 

Eastmost. 

Westmost. 

Northernmost. 

Southernmost. 

Easternmost. 

Westernmost. 



The comparatives former and latter, or hinder ; upper and 
under, or nether ; inner and outer, or utter ; after and hither ; 
and the Latin superior and inferior ; anterior and posterior ; 
interior and exterior ; prior and ulterior ; senior and junior ; 
major and minor, can not, like other comparatives, be con- 
strued with the conjunction than. They are comparatives in 
form, but positives in nature. 

COMPARISON BY INTENSIVE WORDS. 

§ 275. Besides the terminational comparison, there is another, 
which is expressed by certain Intensive words, as very, ex~ 
ceedingly, extremely; as, "Very hard;" " extremely great;" 
" exceedingly kind." When very or any similar word is put 
before the positive, it is called the Superlative of Eminence, to 
distinguish it from the superlative of comparison. Thus, " very 
bold" is the superlative of eminence, and boldest is the superla- 
tive of comparison. 

Another mode of comparison, which in its nature is eminent- 
ly superlative, is to select a certain class superior to others as 
the starting point of comparison ; as, " King of kings;" "lord 
of lords ;" " the bravest of the brave." As all men are not 
brave, brave is itself comparative ; and if the brave exceed the 
common herd, much more does the bravest exceed the common 
herd. 

The comparison is sometimes modified by such terms as 
somewhat, little, still, almost, much, so. Thus, " Learning is 
valuable, prudence is more valuable, and virtue more valuable 
still." The word still implies a continued gradation. Were 
this word suppressed, the sentence would imply that prudence 
and virtue are each more valuable than learning, but would as- 
sert no superiority of virtue to prudence. In the following line 



270 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



a progressive increase in trie comparison is effected by the addi- 
tion of yet after a comparative adjective : 

"Short, shorter, shorter yet my breath I drew." 

ADJECTIVES NOT ADMITTING COMPARISON. 

§ 276. Adjectives whose qualities are Invariable, not suscep- 
tible of increase or diminution, can not be compared. Among 
these are, 

1. All words expressive of figure ; as, Circular, square. 

2. Certain definitive adjectives ; as, One, two, several. 

3. Certain words implying matter, time, place, person ; as, 
Wooden, daily, British, Mosaic. 

4. "Words denoting the highest or lowest degree of a quality. 
The following has been given as a list of adjectives which do 
not properly admit of degrees : 



Almighty, 


Extreme, 


Infinite, 


Safe, 


Certain, 


Fall, 


Lawful, 


Serene, 


Chief, 


False, 


Leaden, 


Solid, 


Circular, 


Filial, 


Living, 


Sound, 


Conscious, 


Fluid, 


Natural, 


Square, 


Continual, 


Free, 


Paternal, 


Subject, 


Dead, 


Godly, 


Perfect, 


Supreme, 


Earthly, 


Golden, 


Perpetual, 


Triangular, 


Empty, 


Gratuitous, 


Reverend, 


True, 


Everlasting, 


Heavenly, 


Right, 


Universal, 


External, 


Human, 


Royal, 


Void. 



Some of these adjectives, however, are frequently found in the 
comparative or superlative form : 

" But first and chief est with thee bring." 

Milton, II Penseroso. 

Thus, too, we find "more perfect" and " most perfect," "full- 
er" and "fullest" although it is evident that nothing can be 
more perfect than perfection, or more full than fullness. These 
forms of expression, though not logically correct, are rhetor- 
ically so. 

" In such instances, the adjective, in its positive state, is not 
employed so as to denote absolutely the highest degree of quali- 
ty, but only an approximation to that degree. Thus, when we 
say that one thing is fuller than another, we must mean that 



THE ADJECTIVE. 



271 



the one thing approaches nearer to fullness or perfection than 
another, presupposing that neither of the things is absolutely 
full." — Grant's Grammar, p. 54. 

COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY. 

§ 277. In the Classical and the Anglo-Saxon languages, ad- 
jectives were declined. The following is the declension of god 
(good) in the Anglo-Saxon : 



Norn. 


Masc. 

, Gdd, 


Singular. 
Fem. 

God, 


Neuter. 

God. 


Plural. 

Masc, Fem., Neut 

Gdde. 


Gen., 


Gddes, 


Gddre, 


Gddes. 


Gddra. 


Bat., 


Gddum, 


Gddre, 


Gddum. 


Gddum. 


Ace, 


Gddne, 


Gdde, 


God. 


Gdde. 


AM., 


Gdde, 


Gddre, 


Gdde. 


Gddum. 



These inflections have, in the modern English language, been 
all dropped, and in place of them we have the word good in a 
single form. 



NUMERALS. 



§ 278. Numerals express the relation of number and quan- 
tity. Hence, like pronouns, they are form-words or relational 
words, and not, like adjectives, proper notional words. In the 
Beckerian system of grammar they are regarded as a distinct 
part of speech. In our common grammars they are referred to 
under the heads of abstract nouns, numeral adjectives, and nu- 
meral adverbs. But they differ, like pronouns, from common 
substantives, adjectives, and adverbs, in that they respect not 
some inherent quality or attribute of substances, but only an ex- 
ternal relation, namely, that of quantity. 



IMPORTANCE. 

§ 279. The importance of this class of words is evident from 
the consideration that quantity as distinct from quality is one 
of the general categories, or fundamental principles of human 
knowledge. Their importance in logic is also evident, from the 
late discussions of Sir William Hamilton in respect to the quan- 
tification of the subject and the predicate. The small space al- 
lotted to numerals in common grammars shows that the old 



272 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

arrangement is not adapted to develop fully the nature of this 
class of words. 

CLASSIFICATION. 

§ 280. I. Cardinal Numerals, or Cardinals, which express 
number in its simplest form, and answer the question How 
many ? as, One, tivo, three, four, and so on indefinitely. These 
express the repetition of a substance in space, and are properly 
attributive. The word one is naturally singular. The rest are 
naturally plural. 

1. Abstract Numerals, expressed either by the preceding num- 
bers used substantively ; as, The ones, the tens ; by words de- 
rived from the Latin ; as, Unity, trinity ; or by words derived 
from the Greek ; as, Monad, duad. 

2. Distributive Numerals (comp. Lat. bini, trini) ; as, One 
by one, two by two, by fifties. These are expressed in English 
only by adverbial phrases. 

3. Iterative Numerals ; as, Once, twice, thrice. These are 
the genitives of the abstract numerals used adverbially. The 
series is continued by means of adverbial phrases ; as, Four 
times, five times ; and answers to the question How often ? 

II. Ordinal Numerals, or Ordinals, which denote a series, 
and answer the question Which one in the series? as, First, 
second, third, fourth. The ordinal first is a superlative form 
derived from the root fore. The word second, contrary to the 
analogy of the other ordinal, is derived from the Latin secundus. 
The remainder of the ordinals are derived from the cardinal nu- 
merals by the addition of the sound of th, subject to slight vari- 
ations. In third th becomes d. In fifth the vowel is shortened. 
In third there is the transposition of the letter r. 

Adverbs of order are derived, for the most part, from the pre- 
ceding, by means of the adverbial affix ly ; as, Firstly, or, what 
is better, first, secondly, thirdly, &c, and lastly. In the high- 
er numbers it is necessary to use an adverbial phrase ; as, In 
the eleventh place, in the twelfth place. 

III. Multiplicative Numerals, or Multiplicatives, which 
show the number of parts of which a whole is composed, and 
answer the question How many fold? as, Single, double, triple, 
or treble, four-fold or quadruple. 



THE ADJECTIVE. 273 

IV. Partitive Numerals ; as, Half, a third, a quarter, or 
fourth part. They are mostly used as substantives. 

Y. Indefinite Numerals ; as, Many, few, some, all, much, 
less, several, whole, enough, other, another, only, alone, more, 
any, none, aught, naught, something, nothing, somewhat, &o. 

VI. Indefinite Quantitative s ; as, Great, little, some, all. 
They are taken, for the most part, from the indefinite numer- 
als, sometimes by different words ; as, Great and little, or large 
and small (comp. many and few) ; sometimes by a different 
construction ; as, Some water (comp. some men) ; all the house 
(comp. all houses). 

The indefinite numerals and quantitatives form antitheses; 
as, Many opposed to few ; great to little ; large to small ; all 
to some. 

COMPOUND NUMERALS. 

§ 281. In Compound Numerals of the ordinal series, it is only 
the last number that takes the ordinal termination; as, The 
thirty-third year ; the five hundred and twenty-fifth year. "We 
may compare this with our mode of adding a genitive termina- 
tion to such phrases as the King of England : the King of 
England 's crown. As we consider King of England a sort 
of compound substantive, and add the mark of the genitive to 
the end of it, so we consider five hundred and twenty-five a 
compound adjective, and are satisfied with having the mark of 
its class put on to the end. "When units are combined with 
tens, they are placed either first, with " and," or last, with- 
out "and" (four-and-twenty, or twenty-four) ; but after a hund- 
red the smaller number is always last ; as, A hundred and twen- 
ty-four. 

plural forms. 

§ 282. Cardinals take the plural form, though all except one 
are naturally plural. 

" The sun has long been set, 

The stars are out by twos and threes, 
The little birds are piping yet 

Among the bushes and the trees." 

Wordsworth. 

s 



274 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

" We are not to stay altogether, but to come to him where he 
stands by ones, by twos, and by threes." — Shakspeare. 

Numerals are usually classed with adjectives, and called nu- 
meral adjectives. Like pronouns, they can be divided, according 
to their signification and form, into substantive, adjective, and 
adverbial numerals ; as, A hundred; ten men; tenthly. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER III. 

1. Give the two definitions of an adjective, and the derivation of the term. 

2. What does it denote, and why is it called a noun adjective ? 

3. Mention the several classes of adjectives. 

4. What is a proper adjective, and what is a common adjective? 

5. What is a numeral adjective, and what is a pronominal adjective? 

6. What is a participial adjective, and what a compound adjective? 

7. Mention other classifications, with examples. 

8. How many degrees of comparison have adjectives that denote variable 
quantities, and what are they ? 

9. In terminational comparison, how is the positive expressed? how is the 
comparative expressed ? how is the superlative expressed ? 

10. What is said of compound comparison ? and of diminution of quality ? 
and of the termination ish f and of the number of varieties of quality ? 

11. Give an instance of irregular comparison, in which different words are 
employed. 

12. Give instances of irregular terminations in comparison. . 

13. Give instances of defective comparison? 

14. What is said of comparison by intensive words? 

15. What is said of adjectives not admitting comparison ? 

NUMERALS. 

16. What do numerals express? what kind of words are they? and what 
is said of their importance ? 

17. Which are the cardinal numerals? what do they express? and what 
question do they answer ? 

18. Which are the ordinal numerals? what do they denote? and what 
question do they answer ? 

19. Which are the multiplicative numerals? what do they denote? and 
what question do they answer ? 

20. Which are the partitive numerals, and the indefinite numerals ? 

21. Which are the indefinite quantitatives, and the compound numerals? 

22. What is said of plural forms? 



THE ARTICLE. 275 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE ARTICLE. 

§ 283. The Article is a part of speech serving to reduce a 
noun substantive from a general to a particular signification. 
It is a question whether the words an and the should he regard- 
ed as a distinct part of speech, called the article, or should he 
classed with adjectives. An is very closely related in origin and 
power to the word one, a numeral adjective. The, both in its 
original and its present power, is closely related to the word that, 
a pronominal adjective. It is convenient to class them as a dis- 
tinct part of speech. 

RELATION OF THE ARTICLES TO THE PROPOSITION. 

§ 284. Still, though they agree severally with one and that, 
they also differ from them. They can not, either of them, like 
one and that, form the predicate of a proposition. Nor can ei- 
ther of them stand by itself as the subject of a proposition. 
The can enter into a proposition only as the sign of definite- 
ness ; as, The man is mortal. An or a can enter into a propo- 
sition only as a sign of indefiniteness ; as, A man is mortal. 
The article can be only a secondary part of speech. 

THE ARTICLE "an" OR " A. " 

§ 285. 1. The article an is the Anglo-Saxon an, the Scotch 
ane, the Latin unus, and the numeral one. But, though it is 
the same in derivation as the numeral one, it differs from it in 
meaning. A man is more indefinite than one man. The word 
an can not be used by itself ; the word one can. Thus we can 
say " He sold one, 11 but not " He sold &." 

2. In the Anglo-Saxon, an was used before consonantal sounds 
as well as vowel sounds. In the English language the n is 
omitted before consonantal sounds and retained before vowel 
sounds ; as, A man, an eagle, a heart, an hour, a union, 
a oneness. The last two words commence with consonantal 



276 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

sounds, the first with that of y, and the second with that of w, 
and therefore a is used instead of an. In the Wt»rd horn' the h 
is silent, and accordingly the n is retained. 

3. The words an and a are identical, the change from an to 
a before a consonantal sound having been made by a euphonic 
process. It is used when we speak of some single object with- 
out defining it. For this reason, in comparison with the, it is 
called the Indefinite Article. It is definite only with respect to 
number. It can occur only when conjoined with other words ; 
as, A man, a woman. Like the adjective, it is the same for 
all genders and cases. 

THE ARTICLE "THE." 

§ 286. 1. The word the is called the Definite Article, be- 
cause it specifies or defines the substantive with which it is 
conjoined ; as, The man, the woman. By these expressions 
some particular man or woman is signified. It is the same for 
all genders, and cases, and numbers. 

2. The definite article the has arisen out of the demonstrative 
pronoun pcet, or, at least, out of a common root ; just as an and 
a have arisen out of the numeral one. In the Anglo-Saxon there 
wa% a form, pe, undeclined, and common to all the cases of all 
the numbers. As an or a is less definite than one, so is the less 
definite than that. Were we for the to substitute that, and to 
say " that man with that long beard," the phrase would more 
particularly imply real presence, and, indirectly, a sort of con- 
trast with this man with this long beard. An and one, the and 
that, express different degrees of definiteness. An might with 
propriety be called the Numeral article, and the the Demon- 
strative. 

comparative etymology. 

§ 287. In Q-reek there is no indefinite, in Latin there is nei- 
ther an indefinite nor a definite article. In the former language 
they say dvrjp ng = a certain man. In the Latin, the words 
filius regis mean equally the son of the king, a son of a king, 
a son of the king, or the son of a king. In Mceso-G-othic and 
in Old Norse there is an equal absence of the indefinite article. 

The origin of articles seems to be uniform. The German ein, 



THE ARTICLE. 277 

the Danish en, stand to one in the same relation in which an 
does. The French un, Italian and Spanish uno, are similarly 
related to unus — one. And as in English the, in German der,, 
in Danish den, come from the demonstrative pronouns, so in the 
Romanic languages are the French le, the Italian il and lo, and 
the Spanish el, derived from the Latin demonstrative Me. 

In no language, in its oldest stage, is there ever a word giv- 
ing, in its primary sense, the ideas of a and the. As tongues 
become modern, some word with a similar sense is used to ex- 
press them. In the course of time a change of form takes place 
corresponding to the change of meaning, e. g., one "becomes an, 
and afterward a. Then it is that articles become looked upon 
as separate parts of speech. No invalidation of this statement 
is drawn from the Greek language. Although the etymology 
gives us 6, rj, to, ho, he, to, as the definite article, the syntax in- 
forms us that in the oldest stage of the language 6 (ho) = the^ 
had the power of ovrog (liowtos) = this. 

" There is a the which originated from the Anglo-Saxon fiy, 
that, and is different from the the which originated from the 
Anglo-Saxon fie. The latter is the common article. The former 
is the the in expressions like all the more, all the better — more 
by all that, better by all that, and the Latin phrases eo majus } 
eo melius." For some of these views, see Latham on the En- 
glish Language. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER IV. 

1. What is an article ? 

2. What question has been raised in respect to an and the f 

3. To what words are they closely related in origin and power? 

4. State the relation of the articles to the proposition. 

5. With what words is the article an identical ? 

6. In what cases is an used in the English language, and in what cases is 
a used ? 

7. What is an or a called, and why is it so called ? 

8. In what respect is this article definite ? 

9. Why is the called the definite article? 

10. From what is the definite article the derived ? 

11. Mention some languages which are destitute of one or both articles. 

12. What is said of the Latin in this connection? 

13. What is said of another the? 



278 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE PRONOUN. 

§ 288. A Pronoun is a word which can be used instead of a 
noun, either as the subject or the predicate of proposition ; as, 
" The man is happy ; he is benevolent." Here he is used instead 
of man as the subject of the proposition. " I am heP Here he 
is used as the predicate of the proposition. 

Or, a Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun; as, "1 
went to London;" "thou hast done a good action;" "he will 
return." 

The term pronoun is derived from the Latin word pronomen, 
which signifies for a noun. Pronouns have been called substi- 
tutes, inasmuch as some of them stand not only for nouns, but 
also for adjectives, for a sentence or part of a sentence, or a se- 
ries of propositions. 

Pronouns are relational words, or form-words, according to 
Becker's classification. They do not, like substantives, express 
the idea of an object, but only the relation of an object to the 
speaker, since they show whether the object is the speaker him- 
self (the first person), or the person or thing addressed (the second 
person), or the person or thing spoken of (the third person) ; e. g., 
I (the teacher) give to you (the scholar) it (the book). 



CLASSIFICATION. 



§ 289. I. A Personal Pronoun is a pronoun whose form 
shows of what person it is without reference to the construction 
in which it is used. 

The personal pronouns are J, of the first person ; thou, of the 
second person ; he, she, and it, of the third person. It should 
be remembered that nouns are naturally of the third person. 

II. A Demonstrative Pronoun is a pronoun which eminently 
points out the objects to which it relates. 

The demonstrative pronouns are this and that, with their plu- 
rals, these and those, and perhaps such and same. 



THE PRONOUN. 279 

III. A Relative Pronoun is a pronoun which stands for some 
preceding word or phrase called the antecedent, and performs the 
office of a conjunction in connecting sentences. 

The relative pronouns are ivho, which, that, and what. 

IY. An Interrogative Pronoun is a pronoun used in asking 
questions. 

The interrogative pronouns are who, which, and what. 

V. An Adjective Pronoun is a pronoun which partakes of the 
nature of the adjective. See § 266. 

VI. An Adverbial Pronoun is a pronoun which partakes of 
the nature of an adverb. See § 363. 

the extent of pronouns. 

§ 290. The extent of this part of speech in different lan- 
guages has been variously defined. Thus, unus, totus, solus 
were regarded as pronouns by the ancient Latin grammarians, 
while the corresponding words in Greek, elc, nag, oXog, and povog, 
are considered merely as adjectives. Same, in English, is con- 
sidered as an adjective, while idem, in Latin, is ranked among 
pronouns. In Sanscrit grammar, the number of pronouns is es- 
pecially great, embracing such words as nemas, half; alpas, a 
little ; ekas, one ; dakshinas, on the right or southern ; awaras, 
behind, &c. That these words have a plausible claim to be re- 
garded as pronouns might easily be shown ; and grammarians, 
in receiving them, have probably been influenced by the irreg- 
ularity of inflection which naturally attaches to the pronoun. 

THE VALUE OF PRONOUNS. 

§ 291. Pronouns act a very important part in etymology, and 
have a great influence upon the grammatical form of other parts 
of speech. The pronominal roots enter into the personal inflec- 
tions of verbs, and into the cases of nouns, and give rise to many 
adverbsf and to a large proportion of the conjunctions. 

It has been said that pronouns are employed to prevent the 
tiresome repetition of nouns. But they do something more. 
For, as there is hardly any name peculiar to one individual, the 
employment of a name belonging to more persons than one would 
not so clearly specify the object as the appropriate pronoun; nor 
would it have that simplicity and energy which accompany the 



280 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

pronoun. If, instead of saying "Jam the Grod," Moses had said, 
"The Lord is the God," or, instead of saying "Thou art the 
man," Nathan had said, "David is the man," the energy of the 
expression would have been destroyed. 

" They are strange and mighty words, these two little pro- 
nouns I and Thou, the mightiest, perhaps, in the whole compass 
of language. The word pronoun is not quite strictly appropriate 
to them ; for, as the great master of the philosophy of language, 
"William Humboldt, observes, ' They are not the mere substi- 
tutes of the names of the persons for whom they stand, but in- 
volve the personality of the speaker and of the person spoken to, 
and the relation between them.' I is the word which man has 
in common with G-od, the eternal, self-existing I AM. Thou is 
the word with which Grod and his conscience speak to man, the 
word with which man speaks and communes with Grod and his 
neighbor. All other words without these two would belong to 
things. I and thou are inseparable from personality, and be- 
stow personality on whatsoever they are applied to. They are 
the two primary elements and conditions of all speech, which 
implies a speaker and a person spoken to ; and they are indis- 
pensable complements each of the other, so that neither idea 
could have been called forth in man without the help of its 
mate." — Guesses at Truth, first series, p. 189. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

§ 292. A Personal Pronoun is a pronoun whose form shows 
of what person it is, without reference to the construction in 
which it is used. There are five pronouns called Personal, 
namely, I, thou, he, she, it. They are so called because they 
denote only the relation of personality. They are substitutes 
for nouns, and are sometimes called substantive pronouns. 

The reasons for including the pronoun it with the personal 
pronouns are. historical rather than logical. Strictly, it is ap- 
plied to things rather than to persons. The reasons for not in- 
cluding the pronoun ivho, which denotes persons, in this class, are 
found in its distinctive office of connecting sentences, in which 
it agrees with the relative pronouns, and is classed with them. 

Personal pronouns admit of person, number, gender, and case. 

Variety of form to distinguish the sex is confined to the third 



THE PRONOUN. 



281 



person. He is masculine ; she is feminine ; it is neuter. Pro- 
nouns of the first and second person are either masculine or fem- 
inine, according to the sex of the speaker or of the person ad- 
dressed. 



293. DECLENSION OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Nom. 



1st Pers 
2d Pers 

3dP 



Gen. or Poss. Accus. or Object 

Singular, I, My or mine, Me. 

Plural, We, Our or ours, Us. 

Singular, Thou or you, Thy or thine, Thee. 

Plural, Ye or you, Your or yours, You. 

( Masc, He, His, Him. 

j Sing. < Fern., ■ She, Her or hers, Her. 
S ' j ( Ncut., It, 
( Plural, They, 



Its, It. 

Their or theirs, Them. 



COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY. 

§ 294. The current declension of the English personal pro- 
nouns has been given from a regard to convenience, and not be- 
cause it is an exhibition of true etymological relations. This 
may be the better understood from an inspection of the declen- 
sions of the personal pronouns and of the demonstrative pronouns 
in the Anglo-Saxon. See § 295 and § 308. 

§295. DECLENSION OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN 
THE ANGLO-SAXON. 









FIRST PERSON. 








Singular. 




Dual. 




Plural. 


Nom. 


, Ic, I. 




Wit, wyt, we two. 


We, 


we. 


Gen., 


Min, of me. 




Uncer, of us two. 


Ure, 


user, of us. 


But., 


Me, to me. 




Unc, to us two. 


Us, 


to us. 


Ace, 


Me, meh, mec 


\, me. 


Unc, us two. 
SECOND PERSON 


Us, 


usih, usic, us. 


Nom. 


, Bu, thou. 




Git, gyt, ye two. 


Ge, 


ye. 


Gen., 


Bin, of thee. 




Incer, of ye two. 


Eower, of you. 


Bat., 


Be, to thee. 




Inc, to two. 


Eow 


', to you. 


Ace, 


Be, £>eh, Tpec, 


thee. 


Inc, you two. 


Eow, eowih, eowic, you. 








THIRD PERSON. 








Masc. 




Fem. Neut. 


Plural of three Genders. 


Nom. 


, He, he. 




Heo, she. Hit, 


hyt, it. 


Hi, hig, they. 


Gen., 


His, of him. 




Hire, hyre, of her. His, 


of it. 


Hira, heora, of them. 


Bat., 


Him, hym, to 


him. 


Hire, hyre, to her. Hiir 


i, to it. 


Him, heom, to them. 


Ace, 


Hine, hyne, him. 


Hi, her. Hit, 


hyt, it. 


Hi, hig, them. 



282 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



PRONOUNS OF THE FIRST PERSON. 

§ 296. I. For i" in English we have ic in Anglo-Saxon, ich in 
the German, ek in the Icelandic, ik in the Mceso-Gothic, jag in 
the Swedish, eyu in the Greek, ego in the Latin. These words 
in these several languages grew out of a root which is not the 
same as that from which the oblique cases in these several lan- 
guages sprang. They are etymologically defective in the ob- 
lique cases, but not practically. The words in actual use in 
these cases are from another root. 

Mine and my. These words sprang from the same root as me. 
For their etymological relations, see § 302. 

Me. For me in English we have in the Anglo-Saxon me, meh, 
mec, in German mich, in Danish mig, in Mceso- Gothic mik, 
Latin me, Greek fie. These words all grew out of the same 
root, but they are all defective in the nominative case. Me, in 
colloquial discourse, is often used for /; as, "Who is at the 
door ?" "It is me." This form of expression, arising from an 
objective view of one's self, should not be encouraged. 

We. For we in English we have we in the Anglo-Saxon, wir 
in the German, vi in the Danish, nos in the Latin. 

Our and ours. For our and ours in English we have ure, 
user in the Anglo-Saxon, unser in the German, vor in the Dan- 
ish. Ours, yours, and theirs have been characterized as having 
double inflections. In popular language, the pronouns take an- 
other double inflection, which seems to be governed by the 
same laws as ours, yours, and theirs. People in common life 
say oufn, your^n, their^n, his'n, her'n, using them absolutely 
just as the German dessen, deren are used. In Wiclif's trans- 
lation we have the following forms : " Blessyd be poure in spirit, 
for the kingdom of hevenes is lierun" — Matthew, v. "And 
some our en wentin to the grave, and thei founden so as the wym- 
men seiden, but thei founden not hym." — Luc, chap. xxiv. It 
is not easy to say when the forms ours, yours, theirs first made 
their appearance in the language. The present difference be- 
tween them and our, your, their, consists in this, that the for- 
mer can be used absolutely or independently; as, u Yours is 
the best book." Formerly, namely, in the old English stage, the 
latter class also could be used absolutely ; as, 



THE PRONOUN. 283 

" Gif he passeth with honour, 
Our is the dishonour e." — Kyng Alisaunder, 38. 

" Of Synah can I tell the more, 
And of Our Lady's bower, 
But little needs to strow my store, 
Suffice this hill of our" 

Us. For us in English we have us in the Anglo-Saxon, unser 
in the German, os in the Danish, nos in the Latin. We, our, 
ours, us, are etymologically related to each other. They all 
spring from the same root. 

SUBSTITUTION OF PLURALITY FOR UNITY. 

§ 297. We, in the plural, is often used in the place of I in 
the singular, especially by reviewers, authors, monarchs, &c. 
That a reviewer, in giving his individual opinions to the public, 
should substitute plurality for unity is very natural, inasmuch 
as he is associated with others, often in a junto or club, whose 
collective opinions he is supposed to utter. Moreover, what he 
lacks in argument he can supply by calling in the aid of we in- 
stead of i". That a ruler, embodying in himself the collected 
will of others ; that an author or orator, in addressing his read- 
ers or hearers, who entertain the same views with himself, should 
use the plural term instead of the singular, is warrantable. 

" But there is a tribe of writers who are fond of merging their 
individuality in a multitudinous ive. They think they may pass 
themselves off unnoticed, like the Irishman's bad guinea, in a 
handful of halfpence. In ordinary books, except when the au- 
thor can be reasonably conceived to be speaking, not merely in 
his own person, but as the organ of a body, or when he can 
fairly assume that his readers are going along with him, his 
using the plural we impresses one with much such feeling as a 
man's being afraid to look one in the face. In simpler times, 
before our self-consciousness became so sensitive, men were not 
afraid to say I, and they never dreamed that their doing so could 
be any offense to their neighbors. But now men are ready to 
become he, she, it, they — any thing rather than I. Even Dr. 
Chalmers, speaking of himself, says, We formerly thought dif- 
ferently, but have now changed our mindP See Guesses at 
Truth, first series, p. 143. 



284 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

I 

PRONOUNS OF THE SECOND PERSON. 

§ 298. Thou. The equivalent of thou, in the Anglo-Saxon, 
vrmjfu; in the German, du ; in the Swedish and Danish, du ; 
in the Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, tu. 

Thy. For the etymological relations of thy and thine, see § 302 

Thee. The equivalents of thee, in Anglo-Saxon, are pe, peh, 
pec. 

Ye. In the Anglo-Saxon we have ge. This is a true nomi- 
native. It sometimes has the force of an accusative, and, as 
such, is used by the poets. " His wrath, which one day will de- 
stroy ye Loth." — Milton. 

Your, Yours. In the Anglo-Saxon we have the equivalent 
eower. Yours is used independently as a substitute for a noun 
in the nominative or objective case; as, " This book is yours f 
" I have no pen ; give me yoursP 

You. The equivalent of you, in Anglo-Saxon, was eow. It is 
a true accusative. It is also used as a nominative instead of 
ye. It is, in familiar language, used in the singular number as 
thou is in the solemn style. You is used, like on in French, 
indefinitely, i. e., for any one ; as, "It is a grand object; you 
may look over the world without finding such another." 

SUBSTITUTION OF PLURALITY FOR UNITY. 

§ 299. The original use of you, a plural form, instead of thou, 
a nominative singular, may have arisen from a deference to the 
person addressed, which led the speaker to treat one as more 
than one, or as representing others besides himself. That you 
had a plural meaning, and not a singular one, is evident from 
the circumstance that it is nominative to a plural verb, you are, 
and not to a singular one, you art. But it has long since ceased 
to have that meaning, or to suggest the idea of plurality when 
applied to an individual. It may, therefore, with propriety take 
its place among the singular forms in the declension of the pro- 
noun and the conjugation of the verb. See § 293. 

In the languages of modern Europe, divers expedients have 
been adopted to supersede the pronoun of the second person sin- 
gular ; and only among certain classes, or in particular cases, is 
it thought allowable nowadays to address any one by his right- 



THE PRONOUN. 285 

ful appellation, thou. This is commonly supposed to be dictated 
by a desire of showing honor to him whom we are addressing. 
But the further question arises, Why is it esteemed a mark of 
honor to turn an individual into a multitude ? The secret mo- 
tive which lies at the bottom of these conventions is a reluctance, 
in the one case, to obtrude one's own personality by the use of 
I, and, in the other, to intrude on the personality of another by 
the use of thou. 

Among the Greeks and Romans there was not the same per- 
sonality in their addresses to each other. They never fancied 
that there could be any thing indecorous or affronting in calling 
each other simply av or tu. 

In England thou was in current use until, perhaps, near the 
commencement of the seventeenth century, though it was get- 
ting to be regarded as somewhat disrespectful. At Walter Ra- 
leigh's trial, Coke, when argument and evidence failed him, in- 
sulted the defendant by applying to him the term thou. " All 
that Lord Cobham did," he cried " was at thy instigation, thou 
viper ! for I thou thee, thou traitor !" When Sir Toby Belch is 
urging Sir Andrew Aguecheek to send a challenge to Viola, he 
says, " If thou thouest him some thrice it shall not be amiss." 

PRONOUNS OF THE THIRD PERSON. 

§ 300. He. For he we have in the Anglo-Saxon he, in the 
German er, in the Swedish han, in the Latin ille. 

His. His was in the Anglo-Saxon a true possessive as now, 
and was common to both the masculine and the neuter genders. 

Him. Him was an the Anglo-Saxon a dative (heom), common 
to the masculine and the neuter genders, but now an objective 
case, and restricted to the masculine. 

She. For she we find in the Anglo-Saxon heo, out of which 
it grew. 

Her. Originally hire, or hyre, was used in the Anglo-Saxon 
either as a dative or a possessive ; used in the modern English 
as a possessive (her book) or an objective (he led her). " Hers 
is probably a case from a case," or an instance of a double in- 
flection. 

It. A true form of the neuter gender, which in the Anglo- 
Saxon was hit. See § 295. The letter t is the sign of the neu- 



286 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

ter gender, as in what, that, it. In the present Danish, Swed- 
ish, Norwegian, and Icelandic, and in the Old Norse and Moeso- 
Gothic, all neuter adjectives end in t. It is used as a nomina- 
tive and objective. 

Its. A possessive irregularly formed, the t being mistaken as 
an original part of the word. It has superseded the Anglo-Saxon 
his. The following forms were in use in the time of Queen 
Elizabeth and James I. : " Learning hath his infancy, when it 
is but beginning, and almost childish ; then his youth, when it 
is luxuriant and juvenile ; then his strength of years, when it 
is solid and reduced ; and, lastly, his old age, when it waxeth 
dry and exhaust." — Bacon, Essay LYIII. Here his is evident- 
ly used as the possessive case of it. 

The word its is of late introduction into the language. It 
does not occur in the common version of the Bible, the substi- 
tute being his or thereof. 

They, their, theirs, them. These words, borrowed from the 
demonstrative pronoun thaet (see § 308), replaced the pronouns 
hi, heora, heom. Theirs is in the same predicament with ours, 
yours, and hers. It is either a case formed from a case, and is 
a secondary genitive, or it is the case of an adjective. See 
§302. 

THE GERMAN USAGE. 

§ 301. The Germans, when addressing a person, generally 
use the third person plural of the personal pronoun. 

Till within some centuries, the Germans, like the French and 
the English, addressed each other in familiar conversation by 
the second person singular, and in formal intercourse by the sec- 
ond person plural. Since that period another mode of address 
has been adopted as expressive of respect, viz., by the third per- 
son plural, while inferiors were, and still are, addressed in the 
third person singular. 

Although the Germans adopted these modern forms, they still 
retained the ancient form. There exists, therefore, a consider- 
able variety in accommodating the mode of address to the dif- 
ferent relations of superiority, inferiority, friendship, and love. 
The use of the third personal pronoun in the plural is generally 
received in the polite conversation of people of education ; and 



THE PRONOUN. 287 

even inferiors, if not in dependence on the speaker, would be of- 
fended if otherwise addressed. The second personal pronoun in 
the plural is used among peasants and other people of lower con* 
dition, and is never used by others, except in addressing persons 
of that description. This practice is, however, more common in 
the country than in towns. The third personal pronoun in the 
singular, ex for male, and sie for female persons, is used only in 
addressing inferiors, particularly servants and others, who are 
dependent on the speaker. It is also employed by the country 
people of some German provinces in speaking to one another. 
Being considered, however, as indicating a want of respect, this 
mode of address should scarcely ever be used. 

The natural address, fflix, is much more usual at the present 
day in German than in other modern languages. As it excludes 
all ceremonious formality, it is reserved for relations of confi- 
dence, friendship, and love. They use it in addressing their 
family, their best friends, and the Supreme Being. See Beck- 
er's Grammar. 

That my and mine, thy and thine, our and ours, your and 
yours, are personal pronouns in the possessive case, and not 
possessive adjective pronouns, may be seen in § 302. 

THE LONGER AND THE SHORTER FORMS OF THE 
POSSESSIVE CASE. 

§ 302. The Genitive or Adnominal case of the pronoun has, in 
several of the Indo-European languages, given rise to a pos- 
sessive adjective, which differs from the genitive or possessive 
case only in being declined like an adjective. Thus : 

From Sanscrit mama, genitive of aham, I, comes mamaka, 
my ; from Sanscrit tava, genitive of tvam, thou, comes tavaka, 
thy. 

From Slavonic mene, gen. of az, I, comes moi masc, moya 
fern., moe heut, my ; from Slavonic tebe, gen. of ty, thou, comes 
tvoi masc, tvoya fem., tvoe neut., thy. 

From Greek efiov, gen. of ey6, comes efiog , e\ir\, e\l6v, my ; 
from Greek gov, gen. of av, comes oog, orj, gov, thy (comp. Greek 
drtfioGioc;, from gen. 6r\\iov, Ionic drjfioio, a contraction of ancient 
drjfjiOGLo)* 

From Latin mei, gen. of ego, comes meus, mea, meum, my ; 



288 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

from Latin tui, gen. of tu, comes tuus, tua, tuum, thy ; from 
Latin cujus, gen. of quis, qua?, quid, comes cujus, cuja, cujum, 
belonging to whom ? 

From Gothic meina, gen. of ik, I, comes meins masc, meina 
fern., mein neut., my ; from Gothic theina, gen. of thu, thou, 
comes theins masc, theina fern., thein neut., thy. 

From Anglo-Saxon min, gen. of ic, I, comes min masc, mine 
fern., min neut., my ; from Anglo-Saxon thin, gen. of thu, comes 
thin masc, thine fem., thin neut., thy. 

In Hindoostanee, also, the genitive case, so designated by the 
writers on that language, conforms itself in its terminations to 
the gender, number, and case of the noun by which it is gov- 
erned, just as an adjective would do. 

Notwithstanding these facts, there is, we apprehend, in the 
English language, so far as my and mine, thy and thine are con- 
cerned, no possessive adjective pronoun distinct from the possess- 
ive case of the substantive pronoun. 

For, in the first place, adjectives are not inflected in English. 
There is, originally, no essential difference of meaning between 
the possessive case of the substantive and the possessive adjec- 
tive, derived from the same substantive ; and in languages 
which have no inflection, as the Chinese, it is a matter of in- 
difference whether certain forms are called the possessive case 
of the substantive or a possessive adjective. As adjectives in 
English are not declined, we have not this means of distin- 
guishing them from substantives. 

In the second place, mine and my, thine and thy, are severally 
both derived from an ancient genitive ; as, mine and my, from 
Gothic meina, genitive of ik, Anglo-Saxon min, gen. of ic, and 
not from Gothic meins, meina, mein, Anglo-Saxon min, mine, 
min, the adjective. So thine and thy, from Gothic theina, gen. 
of thu, Anglo-Saxon thin, gen. of thu, and not from Gothic 
theins, theina, thein, Anglo-Saxon thin, thine, thin, the adjec- 
tive. 

And, in the third place, the different uses of my and mine, 
thy and thine, severally, are merely euphonic. The longer forms 
are used at the end of a sentence or clause for the better ca- 
dence. As the indefinite articles an and a are mere abridg- 
ments of the ancient numeral for one, being distinguished from 



THE PRONOUN. 289 

each other euphonically, so are mine and my, thine and thy, 
mere abridgments of the same ancient form. Thus we say, 
" It is my book ;" but, " The book is mine" or " Mine is the 
book." Also, we say, " My book ;" but anciently altogether, 
and now, in more solemn style, u Mine hour," " mine iniquities," 
just as we say, "A book," " an hour," " an elephant." Thus 
the longer forms are used at the end of a sentence or a clause, 
whenever the word with which it stands most immediately con- 
nected is either omitted or begins with a vowel. . 

Thus far concerning my and mine, thy and thine; but our 
and ours, your and yours, their and theirs, her and hers, stand 
etymologically on somewhat different ground. 

In my and mine, &c, mine is the original or normal form 
from which my is derived by an apocope. But in our and 
ours, &c, our appears to be the original or normal form from 
which ours is derived by a process not yet fully understood. It 
is probably a capricious or abnormal form, involving a double or 
second exponent of the possessive relation (in imitation of the 
genitive of nouns, hinges, John's). Compare the Latin geni- 
tives plural nostrum or nostri, vestrum or vestri. 

But in usage, the distinction between our and ours, &c, is 
now perfectly analogous to that between my and mine, &c. ; 
that is, it is merely euphonic. 

The distinction in usage between the longer and the shorter 
forms of the possessive case is often very delicate. Thus we 
say, "The book is mine;" but if own follows, we say, " The 
book is my own." So " yours and her ancestors," if the ances- 
tors are different; but if they are the same, we say, "your and 
her ancestors." 

There is another form of the possessive,, namely, of mine, of 
thine, of ours, of yours, &c, which has been usually explained 
as a partitive construction ; but it is to be regarded as emphatic ; 
or, rather, as indicating the logical importance of the term thus 
used. Thus: " Sing unto the Lord, ye saints of his J 1 ' — Ps. 
xxx., 4. " And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from 
mine altar." — 1 Sam., ii., 33. "My faith would lay her hand 
on that dear head of thine" — Watts. 

In the ancient language, a genitive might be employed either 
before or after a noun, according to its logical worth or import- 

T 



29Q ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

/ ance. Hence, in forming our modern language, when an em- 
phasis fell on the genitive, the mind vacillated between the ex- 
pressions " a book mine" and " a book of me" and finally 
adopted the mixed construction, "a book of mine." 
If our views are correct, it follows, 

1. We can not approve of the course of the older English 
grammarians, as Wallis, Greenwood, "Wiseman, Priestley, 
who make my and mine, our and ours, &c, all adjective pro- 
nouns, unless one goes further, and makes, also, John's and Pe- 
ters adjective nouns. No one, we fancy, will incline to do this. 

2. We can not approve of the course of most modern English 
grammarians, as Lowth, Murray, Barrett, Ingersoll, Len- 
nie, who make my, thy, his, her, our, your, their, adjective 
pronouns, and mine, thine, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs, per- 
sonal pronouns in the possessive case ; for the etymology or der- 
ivation does not sustain such a distinction, and the addition of 
a substantive following is no more necessary for an adjective 
than for a genitive case. 

3. We can not approve of the principle adopted by a late cel- 
ebrated English grammarian, that mine, thine, ours, yours, &c, 
are not the genitive or possessive case of the personal pronouns, 
but pronouns or substitutes which may stand of themselves di- 
rectly in the nominative or accusative case, or be preceded by 
of, the sign of the genitive ; for all the examples usually ad- 
duced may be explained by supplying the ellipsis of the substan- 
tive, and making the change in the form of the pronoun which 
the principles of euphony stated above require. 

SELF USED WITH THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS AS A 
REFLECTIVE PRONOUN. 

§ 303. The word self, compounded with the personal pro- 
nouns my, thy, him, her, it, and their plurals our, your, their, 
them, has the force and supplies the place of a reflective pro- 
noun ; as, I abhor myself; thou enrichest thyself; he loves 
himself; she admires herself; it pleases itself: plural: We 
value ourselves ; ye or you hurry yourselves ; they see them- 
selves. Self in composition, both in the singular and plural 
number, is used only in the nominative and the objective case. 

There is no reflective pronoun in the English language, and 



THE PRONOUN. 291 

hence the use of the word self is the more necessary and con- 
venient. 

In the Latin there is the reflective pronoun sui, sibi, se. 

In the Moeso-Grothic one is found in three cases : Seina, sis, 
sik — sui, sibi, se. In Old Norse there is one found in three 
cases : Sin, ser, sik. In Old Frisian, in Old Saxon, in Old 
High-Grerman, in Anglo-Saxon, there are traces of a reflective 
pronoun, at least in its adjectival forms. 

In Dutch, Danish, and Swedish the true reflectives occur, so 
that the modern Frisian and English stand alone in respect to 
the entire absence of them. 

SELF A SUBSTANTIVE. 

§ 304. Self appears to he in reality a substantive, though 
sylf in the Anglo-Saxon was declined as an adjective, and was 
used as an adjective. 

1. Self has selves, the plural form of a noun, and not that of 
an adjective. 

2. It is used as a noun ; as, The lover of self 

3. The circumstance that if self be dealt with as a substan- 
tive, such phrases as my own self, my great self, my single 
self, &c, can be used, by which the language would be a gain- 
er. In the Anglo-Saxon, it is added to personal pronouns in the 
same gender and case ; as, N. Icsylf, I myself ; Gr. Minsylfes, 
of myself, &c. N. Wesylfe, we ourselves ; Gr. Uresylfra, of our- 
selves, &c. It was also annexed to nouns ; as, Petrus-sylf, Pe- 
ter's self ; % Crist-sylf, Christ himself 

4. In myself, thyself, ourselves, yourselves, it appears to be 
a substantive preceded by a genitive case : My 'self *= my indi- 
viduality. In himself and themselves the construction is that 
of a substantive in apposition with a pronoun in the accusative. 
When himself and themselves are used as nominatives, the two 
words himself, themselves, must be viewed each as a single 
word compounded ; and even then the compound will be of an 
irregular kind, inasmuch as the inflectional element -m is dealt 
with as part and parcel of the root. See Latham and Guest, 
Lon. Phil. Soc., vol. i., p. 26. 



292 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



SELF USED AS AN ADJECTIVE. 

§ 305. Self is sometimes used as an adjective ; as, " At that 
self-same moment." — Dryden. Self-same is equivalent to 
u very same." 

Formerly hisself and theirselves were in use even in the ob- 
jective case, after a preposition. " Every of us, each for Ms- 
self labored how to recover him." — Sydney. " That they would 
willingly and of theirselves endeavor to keep a perpetual chas- 
tity." Our self is peculiar to the regal style. 



§ 306. In the nominative case, and sometimes when governed 
by a preposition, these compounds express emphasis ; as, I my- 
self will write ; I will examine for myself ; thou thyself shalt 
go ; thou shalt see for thyself ; you yourself shall write ; you 
shall see for yourself ; he himself shall write ; he shall exam- 
ine for himself ; she herself shall write ; she shall examine for 
herself; the child itself shall be carried; it shall be present 
itself. 

To make the genitives his, her, its, our, your, their, mine, 
thine, emphatic or reflective, the pronominal adjective own is 
used ; as, " He killed himself with his own sword ;" " let them 
fall by their own counsel." 

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS. 

§ 307. A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun which emi- 
nently points out the object to which it relates. 

The Demonstrative Pronouns (Latin demonstrare, to show) 
are this, plural these ; that, plural those ; as, "This is true 
charity : that is only its image." 

" The only good on earth 
Was pleasure ; not to follow that was sin." 

In the last example, that stands simply for pleasure ; there 
is no ellipsis, for we can not put in the word " pleasure" with- 
out striking out that. "That" stands for " pleasure," and not 
for that pleasure. It is therefore, in this case, a pronoun, and 
not an adjective. 

This refers to the nearest person or thing, and that to the 



THE PRONOUN. 



293 



most distant. This indicates the latter or last mentioned, that 
the former or first mentioned ; as, " Both wealth and poverty of- 
fer temptations ; that tends to excite pride ; this discontent." 

The words such and same have also been called demonstra- 
tive pronouns. 

" Demonstrative pronouns are those which express the de- 
monstrative relation, namely, a relation either to the speaker or 
to another notion, establishing a distinction from other persons 
or things." — Becker. 

COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY. 

§ 308. This and these answer to the Latin hie and hi, and 
to the Greek ovrog, ovroi ; that and those, to the Latin ille and 
illi, and the Greek eicslvog, ekeIvol. 



DECLENSION IN ANGLO-SAXON. 



O pat {that) and pis (this). 



SINGULAR. 
N6ut Masc. 

Nom.,pat (that), 

Ace, pat, pone (than, then), 

AM., Py (thy), py, 
Bat., pam, pam, 

Gen., paes, paes, 



pa' -re. 

pa' -re (there). 

pa! -re. 



PLURAL. 
Neut. Masc. Fata. 

pa (they), pa, pa. 
pa, pa, pa. 

pam, pam, pam, 

pam (them), pam, pam. 
para (their), para, para,, 





SINGULAR. 






PLURAL. 






Neut. 


Masc. 


Fern. 


Neut. 




Masc. 


Fern. 


Nom. 


, pis (this), 


pes, 


peos. 


pas (these), 


pas, 


pas. 


Ace, 


pis, 


pisne, 


pas. 


Pas, 




Pas, 


Pas. 


AM., 


pise, 


pise, 


pisse. 


pisum, 




pisum, 


pisum. 


Bat., 


pisum, 


pisum, 


pisse. 


pisum, 




pisum, 


pisum. 


Gen., 


pises, 


pises, 


pisse. 


pissa, 




pissa, 


pissa. 



1. The cases marked in italics are in the present language. 
Throughout the Indo-European tribe, the demonstrative idea is 
expressed by t, or by some modification of it. Sanscrit tat, 
that ; tataras, such a one out of two. Lithuanic tas, he ; toks, 
such. Slavonic tako, so. Latin tot, talis, tantum. Greek 
rooog, rolog, tote. English this, that, thus. 

2. These. The s is no inflection, but a radical part of the 
word, like the s in geese. The form in Anglo-Saxon is pas. 
According to Guest, the plural termination of the word is the 
letter e, and this e is the Old English and the Anglo-Saxon ad- 



294 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

jective plural ; so that thes-e is formed from thes, as gode 
( = boni) is formed from god (bonus). 

3. Those is perhaps the Anglo-Saxon pa, with the s added ; 
or, perhaps, the pas, from pis, with its power altered. The En- 
glish form they is illustrated by the Anglo-Saxon form $age~~ 
pel There is much uncertainty resting upon the doctrine of the 
forms in question. 

4. According to Latham, the demonstrative pronouns are, 1. He i 
it; 2. She ; 3. This, that ; 4. The. The reasons he assigns for this 
classification are, 1. That the personal pronouns, exclusive of he, it, 
and she, form a natural class by themselves, distinguished by the ab- 
sence of gender and defectiveness. 2. That the idea expressed by 
he, it, and she is naturally that of demonstrativeness, corresponding 
to the meaning of is, Me, and hie, which are demonstrative pro- 
nouns. 3. That the plural forms they, their, them, in the present 
English, are the plural forms of the root of that, a true demonstra- 
tive pronoun ; so that even if he, she, and it could be treated as per- 
sonal pronouns, it could only be in their so-called singular number. 
4. That the word she has grown out of the Anglo-Saxon seo, and 
that seo was in Anglo-Saxon the feminine form of the definite arti- 
cle, the definite article being a demonstrative pronoun. 

5. This, that, these, those, such, and some, are more com- 
monly classed with adjective pronouns. 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

§ 309. A Relative Pronoun is a pronoun which stands for 
some preceding word or phrase, called the antecedent, and per- 
forms the office of a conjunction in connecting sentences. 

The relative pronouns (Latin relatum refero) are who, which, 
that, and what. They not only relate to some preceding word 
or phrase called the antecedent, but also perform the office of a 
conjunction in connecting sentences. 

Who^ is applied to persons ; as, " This is the orator who will 
speak to-morrow." It is figuratively applied to things. See 
§502. 

Which was formerly applied to persons as well as things ; as, 
" Our Father which art in heaven." It is now applied only to 
animals, and things without life ; as, " This is the horse which 
I bought yesterday ;" " Here is the book which I am study- 



THE PRONOUN. 295 

That is used for who or which, and is applied to both persons 
and things. 

"What, in its derivation the neuter of who, is, in its use, a 
compound relative, including the antecedent and the relative, 
and is equivalent to that which or those which ; as, " This is 
ivhat I wanted ;" that is, the thing which I wanted. For the 
connecting power of the relatives, see Syntax. 

"Who and which are the same in both numbers, and are thus 
declined : 

Sing, and Plur. Sing, and Plur. 

Norn., Who. Which. 

Poss., Whose. Whose. 

Obj., Whom. Which (see § 313). 

Whose, being the possessive case of both who and which, is 
applied to persons as well as things. 

What admits of no variation. As a simple relative, it has 
been so far replaced by which that its use is now vulgar. 

1. 1. Which is a substitute for a sentence, or a part of a sen- 
tence, as well as for a single word ; as, " We are bound to obey all 
the divine commands, which we can not do without divine aid." 

2. Which is sometimes used as an adjective, or with a noun 
subjoined; as, " For which reason he will do it." 

3. Which sometimes relates to persons; as, "He told me 
which of the two men was innocent." 

II. 1. What is used as a relative in either the singular or 
the plural number ; as, " This book is what is wanted ;" " These 
books are ivhat are wanted." 

2. What is sometimes used as an adjective, either in the sin- 
gular or plural number ; as, " In what character Butler was ad- 
mitted into the lady's service is not known ;" " It is not mate- 
rial ivhat names are assigned to them." 

3. What is sometimes used as a pronominal adjective and a 
relative pronoun at the same time; as, "What god but enters 
yon forbidden field?" Here what god = any god ivho. 

4. What sometimes stands for an indefinite idea ; as, " He 
cares not what he says or does." 

5. What sometimes stands for a sentence or clause ; as, " I 
tell thee what, corporal, I could tear her." Here " I could tear 
her" is explanatory of what. 



296 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

6. "What is sometimes used as an interjection ; as, " What ! 
can you lull the winged winds asleep ?" 

III. 1. That is a relative pronoun when it is converted into 
who or which. 

2. That is a pronominal adjective when it defines or limits a 
substantive ; as, " That flower is beautiful." 

3. That is a demonstrative pronoun when it represents a 
noun and is not a relative. See § 307. 

4. That is a conjunction when it serves merely to connect 
sentences ; as, " I eat that I may live." 

The word as is sometimes used as a relative pronoun; as, 
" The man as rides to market." 

4 

COMPOUND RELATIVES. 

§ 310. Who, which, and what have sometimes the words 
ever and soever annexed to them ; as, WJwever, whichever, 
whatever, whosoever, whichsoever, and whatsoever. These 
words are a kind of compound relative, and have the same con- 
struction as what ; as, "Whoever will follow Christ must ex- 
pect reproach ;" " At once came forth whatever creeps." 

"Whoso was anciently in use as the nominative of two verbs ; 
as, " Wlioso is out of hope to attain to another's virtue, will 
seek to come at even hand by depressing another's fortune." 

SUBJUNCTIVE AND PREPOSITIVE PRONOUNS. 

§ 311. The Relative Pronouns who, which, and that have 
been called subjunctive, because they can not introduce an in- 
dependent sentence or proposition, but serve only to subjoin one 
to another which is previous. 

The Personal Pronouns, on the other hand, have been called 
prepositive, because they are capable of leading or introducing 
a sentence, without having any reference, at least for the pur- 
poses of construction, to any thing previous. Of the nature of 
the subjunctive pronouns are the interrogative pronouns. 

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 

§ 312. An Interrogative Pronoun is a pronoun used in ask- 
ing questions. 

Who, avhich, and what are called Interrogatives (Latin in- 



THE PRONOUN. 397 

terrogare, to ask) when they are used in asking questions ; as, 
Who is there ? Which is the book ? What are you doing ? 
Interrogative pronouns are those by which the demonstrative 
relation of a person or thing is asked. 

1. Who, used interrogatively, is applied to persons ; which 
and what to both persons and things. 

2. "Whether, signifying which of the two, was anciently used 
as an interrogative; as, " Whether is greater, the gold or the 
temple ?" In this sense it is now obsolete, being replaced by 

WHICH. 

3. A Relative refers to a subject that is antecedent ; an In- 
terrogative to one that is subsequent; as, " John, who did it;" 
"Who did it? John:' 

4. "Who inquires for the name ; which, for the individual ; 
what, for the character or occupation. Thus, Who wrote the 
book? Mr. Webster. Which of the Websters ? Noah Web- 
ster. What was he ? A lexicographer. 

5. Who is applied to persons indefinitely, but which is applied 
to persons definitely. "Who will go up with me to Ramoth- 
GHlead ?" is indefinitely proposed to all who shall hear the ques- 
tion. " Which of you, with taking thought, can add to his stat- 
ure one cubit ?" is an interrogation addressed to an individual, 
as appears from the partitive form of the words " which of you" 
==■" what one of you all." 

§ 313. comparative etymology. 

declension in anglo-saxon of hwjet = what, and 

HWA^WHO. 
Neut. Masc. 

Nom., Hwset. Hwa. 

Gen., Hwces. Hwses. 

Ace, Hwset. Hwone (Hwaene) (When). 

AM., Hmi (Why). Hwi. 

Dat., Hwam. Hwam. 

Which : Anglo-Saxon lie, like ; hwa, who ; Mceso-G-othic 
hveleiks ; Old High-G-erman hu'elih ; Anglo-Saxon huilic, 
hvile ; Old Frisian hwelik ; Danish hvilk-en ; Scotch whilk ; 
English which. In its origin it is a compound. 

Throughout the Indo-European tribes the interrogative or rel- 
ative idea is expressed by k, or by a modification of k; e. g., qu, 



298 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

hv, or h ; as, Sanscrit kas, who ; kataras, which of two ; kata- 
ma, which of many ; Lithuanic kas, who ; koks, of what sort ; 
Russian kto, who ; koli k, how great ; Bohemian kotory, which ; 
Latin, qiwt, qualis, quantus ; Ionic Greek rcooog , Kolog, /core ; 
Moeso-G-othic huer; English who, what, why, which, where. 

ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS. 

§ 314. An Adjective Pronoun is a pronoun which partakes 
of the nature of an adjective. 

Pronouns can not be conveniently classed without admitting 
many words which may also be considered as adjectives. " All 
words which, instead of naming or describing an object, enable 
us to distinguish it by some relations, are pronouns, or have a 
pronominal character." — Buttmann. It matters little whether 
the words under consideration are called adjective pronouns or 
pronominal adjectives. For all practical purposes, the terms 
may be considered as convertible. 

Each, Anglo-Saxon celc, Scotch ilka, the / being dropped, as 
in which and such. It is sometimes called a distributive, be- 
cause it denotes all the individuals of a number taken separate- 
ly ; as, " The four beasts had each of them six wings." In this 
passage each is a substitute for the " four beasts." " The prince 
had a body-guard of a thousand men, each of whom w T as six feet 
high." In these two examples each is used in its Pronominal 
character. " He exacted of each ma?i fifty shekels." In this 
passage each is an adjective. 

Ever-*, Old English everich, everech, everilk one, is celc 
preceded by the word ever. It denotes all the individuals of a 
number greater than two, separately considered. " Each and 
every of the clauses and conditions." Here every is a Pronoun. 
"Every man's performances." Here every is an Adjective. 

Either, Anglo-Saxon cegper, denotes one of two, but not both. 
"Either of the roads is good." Here either is a Pronoun. " I 
will take either road at your pleasure." Here either is an Ad- 
jective. Either has also sometimes the meaning of each ; as, 
" Seven times the sun had either tropic viewed ;" " Two thieves 
were crucified on cither side." 

Neither — not either, is used as a Pronoun and as an Adjec- 
tive ; as" Neither office will fit the candidate, though neither 
of the offices is filled." 



THE PRONOUN. 299 

Other, Anglo-Saxon o$er, is used as a Pronoun, and opposed 
to one ; as, "All rational evidence is derived from one or other 
of these two sources." It is also used as an Adjective ; as, " Oth- 
er sheep I have which are not of this fold." "When used with- 
out a substantive it takes a plural, Other, others. Other indi- 
cates separation, and means one more, or one of the same class 
or kind. 

Another is the Anglo-Saxon an, one, and o$er = one other. 
"Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth." Here 
another is a Pronoun. " Another soldier was killed." Here 
another is an Adjective. Another is used in the possessive case ; 
as, " Another 's aid." 

One, a numeral Adjective, is also used as a Pronoun. One, 
when contrasted with other, sometimes represents plural nouns ; 
as, " The reason why the one are ordinarily taken for real qual- 
ities, and the other for bare powers, seems to be." — Locke. 
" There are many whose waking thoughts are wholly employed 
on their sleeping ones." — Addison. It frequently is not easy to 
distinguish between the one here described, and the one de- 
scribed in § 316. One often stands in company with every, 
any, no, some. 

Any, Anglo-Saxon cenig, Old High-German eimc=any, and 
einac = single. In Anglo-Saxon anega means single. In New 
High-German einig means, 1. A certain person ; 2. Agreeing; 
einzig, meaning single. In Dutch enech has both meanings. 
This indicates the word an — one, as the root of the word in 
question. Any has several meanings : 1. After negative words, 
and such words and phrases as have a negative force, " any'' 1 
marks the exclusion of all. "Jle did it without any hesitation." 
"We can not make any difference between you." So after 
" scarcely" and comparatives, and in questions where the ex- 
pected answer is nobody, none. " Scarcely any one." " He is 
taller than any of his schoolfellows." " Can any man believe 
this?" 2. It is sometimes equivalent to "any you please," 
" every body ;" as, " any body can do that." 3. Again, it is 
sometimes indefinite, being equivalent to some one ; as, " Shall 
we tell any body of our misfortunes ?" 

Such, Anglo-Saxon svilc, Old Saxon sulic, German soldi. 
" Objects of importance must be portrayed by objects of import- 



300 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

ance ; such as have grace by things graceful." — Campbell's 
Rhetoric, i., 2. Such here supplies the place of a noun, though 
it retains its adjectival character, and the noun may be added. 

Aught, Anglo-Saxon aht, auht, awuht. It means any thing. 
It is sometimes improperly spelled ought. It is etymologically 
related to whit. The word naught is aught preceded by the 
negative particle. "Doth Job serve God for naught ?" — not 
any thing — nothing . 

Some, Anglo-Saxon sum. "Some to the shores do fly, some 
to the woods." In cases like this it has a Pronominal character. 
"Some men and some women were present." Here some is ad- 
jectival. " Some with numerals is used to signify about. Some 
fifty years ago." Objections have been made to this phraseol- 
ogy; but it is a good old Saxon idiom. "Sum is often com- 
bined with the genitive plural of the cardinal numbers, and sig- 
nifies about; as, " Sume ten gear, some ten years." — Rask, p. 
61. 

Former, latter ; the one denotes priority, the other posteri- 
ority. Their nouns are frequently understood. Used substan- 
tively in the singular, they have a regular genitive ; as, " The 
former's phlegm, the latter 's vivacity." 

Both, Anglo-Saxon butu, Danish baade. " Abraham took 
sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech, and both of them 
made a covenant." Here both is the representative of Abra- 
ham and Abimelech. " He will not bear the loss of his rank, 
because he can bear the loss of his estate ; but he will bear 
both, because he is prepared for both." Here, too, it is pronom- 
inal in its character. " To both the preceding kinds the term 
burlesque is applied." — Campbell's Rhetoric, i., 2. Here it is 
adjectival. 

Own, Anglo-Saxon agen, from agan, to possess. In its Ad- 
jectival character, it is intensive, being added to words to ren- 
der the sense emphatical ; as, " This is my own book." In the 
following example it has a Pronominal character : " That they 
may dwell in a place of their own" — 2 Sam., ch. vii. In this 
example a substantive can not follow own. So this : " This is 
an invention of his own." 

A similar examination could be applied to all the words which 
have been denominated adjective pronouns. For a list of this 



THE PRONOUN. 301 

class of words, see § 265. It should be added that many of them 
are now considered to be indefinite numerals. 

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS. 

§ 315. A Reciprocal Pronoun is one that implies the mutual 
action of different agents. Each other and one another are 
our reciprocal forms, which are treated exactly as if they were 
compound pronouns, taking for their genitives each other's, one 
another's. Each other is properly used of two or more, and 
one another of more than two. 

INDETERMINATE PRONOUNS. 

§ 316. Man. In Anglo-Saxon the word man often takes the 
place of an indeterminate pronoun ; as, "Man geaf him," they 
gave him. In Old English, the use of the plural noun super- 
seded that of the singular in phrases like this : " Men it herd" 
they heard it. 

Me. At the beginning of the twelfth century the pronoun me 
made its appearance, whether it be a corruption of man, or grew 
out of ho-mo, ne-mo, gu-ma, Anglo-Saxon, a man. " Ne me 
tundeth not a lanterne and putteth it under a bushel, but on a 
candlestick."' — Wiclif, Matt., v. In expressions like these, me 
seems to be used as an indefinite pronoun : " But as he was by 
diverse principal young gentlemen, to his no small glorie, lifted 
up on horseback, comes me a page of Amphialus, who, with a 
humble, smiling reverence, delivered a letter unto him from Clin- 
ias." — Arcadia, b. hi. 

It. The pronoun it is often used in an indeterminate sense, 
and in a plural signification : 

u, Tis these that early taint the female soul." — Pope. 

" Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses 
sprinkle it toward heaven." — Exod., ix., 8. "It seems," " it 
pleased him," are instances of the same indeterminate use of it. 
In the phrases it rains, it hails, it thunders, it refers to the face 
of external nature, which is supposed to be in the notice of all 
parties. Hence the phrases are perfect in themselves, and re- 
quire nothing antecedent or consequent to explain them. 

One. One, as used in the phrases one does so and so ; one is 



302 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

in doubt, has "been called an indeterminate pronoun. One says 
= they say =it is said = m<m sagt, German =on dit, French. 
This is from the Old French horn om, and is not connected with 
the numeral, hut is a dialectic variety with man itself, just as 
the French on dit grew out of the older phrase horn dit, i. e., 
homo dicit. This word is so far substantival that it is inflected. 
G-enitive singular, one's oivn self; plural, " My wife and little 
ones are well." Somebody, something ; any body, any thing ; 
every body, every thing ; nobody, nothing, may he classed 
with the indeterminate pronouns. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER V. 

1. Give the two definitions of a pronoun, and the derivation of the term. 

2. What is a personal pronoun? and a demonstrative pronoun ? and a rela- 
tive pronoun ? and an interrogative pronoun ? and an adjective pronoun ? and 
an adverbial pronoun? 

3. Is the extent of pronouns the same in different languages? 

4. What can you say of the importance and value of pronouns ? 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

5. What is a personal pronoun ? How many are there ? Mention them. 

6. Why are personal pronouns so called ? 

7. Of what modifications do they admit ? 

8. What are masculine pronouns, what feminine, and what neuter? 

9. Decline the personal pronoun. 

10. What is said of the substitution of plurals for unity in the first person? 

11. What is said of the substitution of plurals for unity in the second per- 
son ? What word has its superseded ? 

12. What is said of the German usage ? 



13. What office does the word self perform? 

14. Has the English language any true reflective pronoun? 

15. What proof have you that self is used as a substantive, and in what 
several ways is it thus used ? 

16. In what instances is self used as an adjective? 

17. In what cases is self emphatic ? 

18. What is said of own in this connection? 

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS. 

19. What is a demonstrative pronoun ? 

20. Mention the demonstrative pronouns, and give examples of their use. 



THE PRONOUN. 303 

21. From what are this and that derived'? 

22. Mention Latham's opinion as to what are demonstrative pronouns ? 

23. In the Indo-European stock of languages, how is the demonstrative 
idea expressed ? 

24. In the Anglo-Saxon, what is the form for these f 

25. In the Anglo-Saxon, what are the equivalents of those ? and of they f 
and of them ? and of their ? 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

26. What is a relative pronoun, and what office does it perform? 

27. Which are the relative pronouns'? 

28. What is said of who; also of which ; and also of that; and also of 
what ? 

29. Decline who and which. 

30. Does what admit of any variation? 

31. Mention the several ways in which which is used ; and in which what 
is used ; and in which that is used. 

32. Mention the compound relatives, and state how they are formed. 

33. State the distinction between the subjunctive pronouns and the preposi- 
tive pronouns. 

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 

34. What is an interrogative pronoun? 

35. Which are the interrogative pronouns? 

36. State how who, which, and what, and whether are used. 

37. What is the difference between who and which in their application to 
persons ? 

38. In the Indo-European languages, how is the relative idea expressed ? 

ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS. 

39. What is an adjective pronoun ? 

40. State Buttman's opinion on the subject. 

41. What is a reciprocal pronoun, and which are the reciprocal pronouns? 

42. Mention the indeterminate pronouns. 

43. Give examples of the use of man as an indeterminate pronoun ; and of 
me ; and of it ; and of one. 



I 



Q4 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE VERB. 

§ 317.- A Substantive Verb is a word that can form the 
Copula of a proposition ; as, " Grod is great." Here is forms the 
copula of the proposition, of which great is the predicate, and 
is by the definition a verb. See § 240. 

A Common or Adjective Verb is a word which can form both 
the Copula and the Predicate of a proposition ; as, " The sun 
shines." Here shines, for grammatical purposes equivalent 
to is shining, forms both the copula and the predicate of the 
proposition, and is by the definition a verb. An adjective verb 
is one that contains in itself an attribute or a predicate. 

Or, a Verb is a word which expresses an Assertion ; as, " John 
reads" Here the act of reading is asserted of John. " Sugar 
is sweet." Here the quality of sweetness is asserted of sugar. 

As the verb essentially expresses assertion, without which 
there could be no communication of thought, it was regarded 
by the ancient grammarians as the very soul of a sentence, and 
called verbum — the word. The verb, the verb only, predicates. 
The Chinese call verbs live words, nouns dead ivords. 



§ 318. According to Becker, all notions expressed by language 
are either notions of activity or notions of existence. The notion of 
activity is expressed by a verb when the activity is contemplated as 
bearing on the relations of person, time, and mode to the speaker ; 
as, He drank; he fled ; the tree grows. It is expressed by an adjec- 
tive when it is not thus related to the speaker; as, A drunken man ; 
a flighty thought ; a great tree. The notion of existence is express- 
ed by a substantive; as, A drinker; a, flock; the growth. 

In favor of this view may be argued, 

1. That most verbs actually express action in the ordinary or col- 
loquial sense of that term. 

2. That verbs now apparently expressing rest or inaction origin- 
ally denoted action ; thus, standing was conceived of as a rising up ; 
reposing as a putting one's self down. 



THE VERB. 305 

3. That every verb, in a philosophical view, whether looked at 
physically or metaphysically, expresses motion or action. 

4. That this definition of a verb forms a good contrast to that of 
the substantive, as expressing mere existence. 

Verbs are, in point of signification, either Notional Verbs or Re- 
lational Verbs. 

All verbs are notional words excepting auxiliary verbs, which are 
relational. These latter verbs express only time, or modality, or the 
passive voice of a notional verb, which is then termed the principal. 
See § 341. 

CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS. 

§ 319. I. Those of the Ancient or Strong Conjugation, com- 
monly called Irregular. See § 348. 

II. Those of the Modern or "Weak Conjugation, commonly 
called Regular. See § 354. 

Verbs have also been divided into Principal and Auxiliary 
Verbs, Substantive and Adjective Verbs, Primitive and Derived 
Verbs. 

There are also Reflective, Defective, and Impersonal Verbs. 

Verbs are divided into two classes, according to their uses : 
I. Transitive. II. Intransitive. Many verbs are sometimes 
transitive and sometimes intransitive. 

transitive verbs. 

§ 320. Verbs are called Transitive if their motion or idea is 
incomplete without the complementary notion of an object ; as, 
" He struck" Here the meaning of struck is incomplete, for it 
has no object. 

1. Transitive Verbs express an assertion in two forms, called 
the Active Voice and the Passive Voice. 

2. The term transitive signifies passing over. " He struck 
the boy." Here something is supposed to pass over from the 
subject to the object. The verb struck is a transitive verb in 
the active form. " The boy was struck by him." Here the 
same affirmation is expressed in the passive form. The object 
of the verb in the former case is the subject in this. 

3. The object of a transitive verb is always its complement, 
which, if not expressed by the speaker or the writer, is supplied 
by the hearer or the reader from the connection. 

U 



306 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

4. The subject of a transitive verb is sometimes its comple- 
ment ; as, " He struck himself" 

INTRANSITIVE VERBS. 

• 

§ 321. Verbs are called Intransitive if their notion or idea 
is complete without the aid of any complementary notion ; as, 
" He sleeps." Here the meaning of sleeps is complete. It is 
confined to the subject ; it needs no object. 

1. The term intransitive means not passing over. " He 
runs" Here the act of running is limited to the subject. 

2. Intransitive verbs, from their nature, can not regularly be 
used in the passive form. 

3. Some verbs are used sometimes in a transitive, and some- 
times in an intransitive sense ; as, Range, to place in order ; 
and Range, to roam at large. 

4. An intransitive verb can be defined as one which express- 
es simply being ; as, I am ; or state of being ; as, He sleeps ; 
or action limited to the agent ; as, He runs. 

THE ATTRIBUTES OF VERBS. 

§ 322. To verbs belong Person, Number, Tense, Mode, and 
Voice. The forms of conjugation are, voices, for the relation 
of the action of the verb to the subject ; modes, for the relation 
of reality, whether existing, conceived of, or willed by the 
speaker ; tenses, for the relation of time ; numbers and persons, 
to show the number and person of the subject, corresponding 
with the numbers and persons of personal pronouns. 

THE PERSONS OF VERBS. 

§ 323. Verbs have three persons, First, Second, and Third, 
corresponding to the threefold distinction in personal pronouns. 
Nouns are naturally of the third person. 

Compared with the Latin, the Greek, the Sanscrit, the Mceso- 
Gothic, and almost all the ancient languages, there is in English 
only a very slight amount of inflection. 

Present Tense, Indicative Mode. 





LATIN. 




1st Person. 

Singular, Voc-o, 
Plural, Voc-amus, 


2d Person. 

voc-as, 
voc-atis, 


3d Persoa. 

voc-at. 
voc-ant. 





THE VERB. 






ANGLO-SAXON. 




1st Person. 


2d Person. 


3d Person. 


Singular, Lunge, 


lufast, 


lufaS. 


Plural, Lufia-5, 


lufias, 

OLD ENGLISH. 


lufias. 


Singular, Love, 


lovest, 


loveth. 


Plural, Loven, 


loven, 

MODERN ENGLISH. 


loven. 


Singular, Love, 


lovest, 


loveth or loves 


Plural, Love, 


love, 


love . 



307 



\ Here we see six different terminations in the three persons of 
the two numbers of the Latin. 

2. a. We also see the Anglo-Saxon addition of t in the second per- 
son singular ; b. The identity in the form of the three persons of the 
plural number in that language ; c. The change of «$ into en in the 
Old English plural ; d. The total absence of plural forms in the 
Modern English ; e. The change of th into s in loveth and loves. 

3. The sign of the first person singular is found in one verb only. 
In the word am (a-m) the m is no part of the original word. It is 
the sign of the first person singular of the present indicative. 

4. The sign of the second person singular is est or st ; as, Thou 
callest. 

5. The sign of the third person singular is eth or th, or else es or 
s ; as, He calleth, he loveth ; or, He calls, he laves. The first of these 
forms is now used only in formal discourse. It was once in com- 
mon use. It is found only in the indicative mode and the present 
tense. 

6. Through the whole of the plural there are no signs of the per- 
sons, or change of form : We call, ye call, they call. 



NUMBERS OF VERBS. 

§ 324. Verbs have two numbers, the Singular and the Plu- 
ral, corresponding to the twofold distinction in personal pro- 
nouns. 

As compared with the present plural forms we love, ye love, they 
love, both the Anglo-Saxon we lufia^, ge lufiaS, he lufia$, and the 
Old English we loven, ye loven, they loven, have a peculiar termina- 
tion for the plural number, which the present language wants. In 
other words, the Anglo-Saxon and the Old English have a plural 
personal characteristic, while the modern English has nothing to 



308 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

correspond with it. And this is the case in all the Gothic languages, 
as well as in the Anglo-Saxon. 

MCE SO-GOTHIC. 

Skain, I shone ; skinum, we shone: Gab, I gave ; gebum, we gave. 
Smait, I smote ; smitum, we smote : Laug, I lied ; lugum, we lied. 

ANGLO-SAXON. 

Arn, / ran ; urnon, ive run : Sang, / sang ; sungon, we sung. 

Span, I span ; spunnon, we spun : Drank, i" drank ; drunkon, we drunk. 

From these examples the reader can not fail to draw the infer- 
ence, viz., that words like 

Began, begun. Sank, sunk. 

Ran, run. Swam, swum. 

Span, spun. Drank, drunk, &c, 

generally called double forms of the preterit, were originally differ- 
ent numbers of the same tense, the form in -u being plural. The 
second person singular generally has the same vowel as the plural : 
1c sang, / sang; pu sunge, thou sungest ; He sang, he sang ; We 
sungon, we sung ; Ge sungon, ye sung ; Hi sungon, they sung. 

The signs of the persons, m, st, or est, eth or s, are, in a second- 
ary sense, the signs of number, since they are found only in the sin- 
gular. But the only real sign expressive of a difference of number 
occurs in the past tense of the indicative mode of the verb substan- 
tive : / was, thou wast, he was ; We were, ye were, they were. 

TENSES OF THE VERB. 

§ 325. Tense is a form of the verb used to express the rela- 
tion of time ; as, I strike, I struck. Tense is from the French 
temps, Latin tempus, time. 

By combinations of words and inflections, English verbs have 
six tenses, namely, Primary Tenses : 1. The Present ; 2. The 
Past ; 3. The Future. Secondary Tenses : 1. The Present 
Perfect ; 2. The Past Perfect ; 3. The Future Perfect. 

FORMS FOR THE PRESENT TENSE. 

§ 326. The Present Tense denotes present time. Of this 
there are three forms: 1. I ivrite. This is the Simple form, 
and denotes habitual action and what is true at all times. 2. I 
am writing. This is the Progressive form, and denotes that 
the action is now going on. 3. I do ivrite. This is the Em- 
phatic form, and is used in positive assertions. 



THE VERB. 309 

1. The present tense is often used instead of the past, in or- 
der to give animation to description. " He walks (for walked) 
up to him and knocks (for knocked) him down." This denotes 
a single action, and not the natural habitual power of the En- 
glish present. The historian, the poet, and the orator make 
great use of this form, by which they can make the dead past 
become the living present.- 

2. The present tense is also used instead of the future when 
the future is conceived of as present ; as, " I can not determine 
till the mail arrives ;" "When he has an opportunity he ivill 
writeP The words till, when, carry the mind to an event to 

happen, and we speak of it as present. 

» 

FORMS FOR THE PAST TENSE. 

§ 327. The Past Tense, or Preterit, denotes past time. Of 
this there are three forms : 1. I wrote. This is the simple 
form, and represents an action which took place at some time 
completely past. This is expressed in the English by the pret- 
erit, in the Greek by the aorist = undefined. 2. 1 was writing-. 
This is the progressive form, and represents the action as un- 
finished at a certain specified time past. " I was speaking when 
he entered." Here we have two acts, the act of speaking- and 
the act of entering. Both are past as regards the time of speak- 
ing, but they are contemporary as regards each other. The pro- 
gressive form is expressed by the past tense of the substantive 
verb and the present participle. I was speaking — dicebam^ 
the imperfect tense of the Latin. 3. I did write. This is the 
emphatic form. 

i 

FORMS FOR THE FUTURE. TENSE. 

§ 328. The Future Tense denotes future time. There are 
two forms : 1. I shall write. This is the simple form, and rep- 
resents an action that is yet to come. 2. I shall be writing. 
This is the progressive form, and expresses an action which is 
to take place at a future specified time. Both forms are ex- 
pressed in the English by the combination of will or shall with 
an infinitive mode; in Latin and Greek by an inflection: I 
shall (or will) speak, Ae|w, dicam. 



310 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

" In the first person simply shall foretells ; 
In icill a threat, or else a promise dwells. 
Shall, in the second and the third, does threat ; 
Will simply, then, foretells the future feat." — Brightland. 

When speaking in the first person, we speak submissively ; 
when speaking to or of another, we speak courteously. In the 
older writers, in the translation of the Bible, for instance, shall 
is applied to all three persons. We had not then reached that 
stage of politeness which shrinks from the appearance of speak- 
ing compulsorily to another. In the Paradigms of the Verbs, 
two forms of the future are given. The first may be called the 
predictive future. The second may be called the imperative, or 
the promissive future. See § 343. 

FORMS FOR THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. 

§ 329. The Present Perfect Tense denotes past time com- 
pleted in the present, or connected with the present. Of this 
there are two forms : 1. " I have written a letter." This is the 
simple form, and represents an action as having been finished 
in some time past, reckoning from the present. 2. " I have 
been writing these two hours." This is the progressive form, 
and represents an action as just finished. The first is expressed 
in English by the auxiliary verb have, and the passive partici- 
ple in the accusative case and neuter gender of the singular 
number. See § 347. The Greek expresses this by the redu- 
plicate perfect : 7Ten6v7]fca = I have labored. If a particular time 
not connected with the present is mentioned, the tense must be 
the past ; as, " I finished the work last week." " I have seen 
my friend last week" is not correct English. " J'ai vu mon 
ami hier" is good French, but " I have seen my friend yester- 
day" is not good English. 

FORMS FOR THE PAST PERFECT TENSE. 

§ 330. The Past Perfect denotes past time that precedes 
some other past time. Of this there are two forms : 1. " I had 
written the letter before he arrived" This is the simple form, 
and represents the action as past before some other past time 
specified. 2. " I had been writing before he arrived" This 
is the progressive form, and represents that the action was go- 
ing on before another action took place. 



THE VERB. 311 

FORMS FOR THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. 

§ 331. The Future Perfect denotes future time that pre- 
cedes some other future time. Of this there are two forms: 1. 
" I shall have written the letter before the mail is closed." 
This is the simple form, and denotes an- action which will he 
past at a future time specified. 2. "I shall have been writing 
an hour before the mail is closed." This is the progressive form, 
and represents that an action will be going on before a certain 
other future action will take place. 

There are other grammatical forms for expressing future 
time ; as, " I am going to write ;" " I am about to write." In 
the sentence " I have to pay a sum of money to-morrow," there 
is implied a present necessity to do a future act. The substan- 
tive verb, followed by an adjective verb, forms another idiomatic 
expression of future time ; as, " John is to command a regi- 
ment." 

Of the two examples in section 325, I strike, I struck, the 
first implies an action taking place at the time of speaking, 
the second marks an action that has already taken place. 
These two notions of present and past time, being expressed by 
a change of form, are etymologically true tenses. They are the 
only true tenses (i. e., on the ground of inflection) in the lan- 
guage. In I was beating, I have beaten, I had beaten, and 
I shall beat, a difference of time is expressed ; but as it is ex- 
pressed by a combination of words and not by a change of form, 
no true tenses are constituted. 

In Greek the case is different: BovXevG) = I advise; edov- 
Xevov — I id as advising ; (3ovXevocx> — I shall advise ; ebovXevoa 
— I advised; /3e6ovX£vtca = I have advised; e6e6ovXevKetv= I 
had advised. In these words we have, of the same mode, of the 
same voice, and the same conjugation, six different tenses, where- 
as in English, by inflection, there are but two. 

MODES OF THE VERB. 

§ 332. Mode denotes those forms which the verb assumes in 
order to express the relation of reality or existence as conceived 
of by the speaker. See § 334. It shows the manner, Latin 
modus, in which an attribute is asserted of the subject. 



312 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

I. The Indicative mode is that form of the verb which ex- 
presses direct assertion or interrogation ; as, " He teaches ;" 
"Do they learn ?" It is used for actual existence. 

II. The Subjunctive mode is that form of the verb which ex- 
presses conditional assertion ; as, " If he were there ;" " Though 
he write. 97 It is used for doubtful existence. 

III. The Potential mode is that form of the verb which ex- 
presses assertions implying possibility, contingency, or necessity ; 
as, " He can write ;" " He may go ; " He must submit." It is 
used for possible or necessary existence. 

IV. The Imperative mode is that form of the verb which ex- 
presses the will of the speaker ; as, "Depart thou ;" " Let us 
stay ;" " Go in peace." This is used for desired existence. 

Y. The Infinitive mode is that form of the verb which is not 
limited to any particular person or number ; as, To rest ; to 
learn. It is used for existence in general. It partakes of the 
nature of an abstract noun. 

Besides these, the participle has been by some considered as a 
mode of the verb partaking of the nature of the adjective, just as 
the infinitive mode partakes of the nature of a noun. 

Indicative, from the Latin indicare, is so called because its chief 
use is to point out or indicate simply and absolutely. When used 
in asking questions, the order, but not the form of the words, is 
changed. 

Subjunctive, from subjungere, to subjoin, is so called because the 
tenses of the subjunctive mode are generally subjoined to other verbs. 
It is used to denote something doubtful or contingent, or contrary to 
the fact. It is commonly denoted by certain conjunctions, as if, lest, 
though, that, unless. 

Potential, from potentials, posse, to be able, is so called because 
the idea of power is prominent in this form of the verb. It is de- 
noted by the signs can, may, must, could, might, should, and would. 

Imperative, from imperare, to command, is so called because it is 
used in commanding, exhorting, entreating. 

Infinitive, from infinitus, unlimited, is so called from its not being 
limited to a particular subject as to person or number, as the other 
forms of the verb, which are called finite. This form of the verb i« 
usually denoted by the preposition to. 



THE VERB. 313 



THE ANGLO-SAXON MODES. 

§ 333. The Anglo-Saxon has four modes of the verb, the Indica- 
tive, the Subjunctive, the Imperative, and the Infinitive, for which 
there were corresponding inflections. 



INDICATIVE. 


SUBJUNCTIVE. 


Indefinite. 


Perfect. 


Indefinite. 


Perfect. 


I do or shall love. 


I loved or have loved. 


If I love. 


If I have loved. 


Sing., Ic luf-ige, 


Luf-ode, 


Luf-ige, 


Luf-ode, 


pu luf-ast, 


Luf-odest, 


• Luf-ige, 


Luf-ode, 


He luf-a-5, 


Luf-ode, 


Luf-ige, 


Luf-ode, 


Plur., We luf-iaS, 


Luf^odon, 


Luf-ion, 


Luf-ode, 


Ge luf-ia-S, 


Luf-odon, 


Luf-ion, 


Luf-odon, 


Hi luf-iaS. 


Luf-odon. 


Luf-ion. 


Luf-odon. 



IMPERATIVE. INFINITIVE. PARTICIPLES. 

Lufa bu, love thou. Luf-ian or -igean, to love. Indef. Per/. 

Luf-ia-S ge, love ye. To luf-ienne, -igenne, to love. Luf-iende, loving. Luf-od, loved. 

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MODES. 

fy 334. In English, the distinction between the modes, so far as 
inflection i^ concerned, is very slight. The only true subjunctive 
inflection is that of were and wert, as opposed to the indicative forms 
was and wast. See § 347. If he speak, as opposed to if he speaks, 
is characterized by a negative sign only, and consequently is no 
true example of a subjunctive. Be, as opposed to is, in the sen- 
tence if it be so, is an uninflected word used in a limited sense, and 
consequently no true example of a subjunctive. The distinction be- 
tween the subjunctive forms and the indicative, however desirable 
it may be to retain it, is likely to pass away. 

Between the second person singular imperative, speak, and the 
second person singular indicative, speakest, there is a difference in 
form. Still, as the imperative form speak is distinguished from the 
indicative form speakest by the negation of a character rather than 
by the assuming of one, it can not be said, on the ground of inflec- 
tion, that there is in English an imperative mode. The Anglo-Sax- 
on has distinct forms for the imperative ; the English has not. 

It is questionable whether any thing has been gained to the lan- 
guage by the introduction of the potential mode. It has taken its 
place extensively in English grammar as one of the forms of the 
verb. Still, it should be remembered that, in the language of 
Lowth, the mere expression of will, possibility, liberty, obligation, 
belong to the indicative mode, just as all direct assertion belongs to 
that mode. In the forms of expression / can go, we may ride, he 



314 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

must obey, I, we, and he are respectively nominative to can, may, and 
must, which govern go, ride, and obey in the infinitive mode. See 
§ 349. In expressions like " if I should go," " if I may ride," we 
have the potential form (or indicative) under a condition = the sub- 
junctive mode. 

Instead of the terms Subjunctive and Potential, it has been pro- 
posed by some grammarians, as simplifying the subject, to substi- 
tute for them both the term Conjunctive, to designate the two meth- 
ods of connecting sentences. Thus, when an uncertain sentence is 
connected with a certain sentence, If it rain, I shall not go, and 
when two uncertain sentences are connected together, If it rain, 1 
may not go,t\ie term conjunctive is applied to each of the three un- 
certain sentences, instead of the term subjunctive to the first two, 
and the term potential to the last, I may not go. According to this 
view, the indicative asserts simply ; the conjunctive asserts with mod- 
ifications. The appropriateness of the term conjunctive is derived 
from the circumstance that the contingency is usually marked by a 
conjunction (such as if, though, that, except, until), which connects the 
dependent sentence with its principal. 



N FLECTION OF THE INFINITIVE 



MOl 



§ 335. The Inflection of the verb in its impersonal or infinitive 
form anciently consisted, in full, of three cases : a Nominative (or 
Accusative), a Dative, and a Genitive. The genitive is put last, be- 
cause its occurrence in the Gothic language is the least constant. 

I. In Anglo-Saxon, the nominative (or accusative) ended in -an : 

Lufian = to love =. amare. 

Baernan = to burn == urere. 

Syllan — to give = dare. 

The -en, in words like strengthen, is a derivational termination, 
and not a representation of the Anglo-Saxon infinitive inflection. 
The Anglo-Saxon infinitive inflection is lost in the present English, 
except in certain provincial dialects. , 

II. In Anglo-Saxon, the dative of the infinitive verb ended in -nne, 
and was (as a matter of syntax) generally, perhaps always, preced- 
ed by the preposition to : 

To lufienne = ad amandum. 

To bsernenne = ad urcndum. 

To syllanne = ad dandum. 

With these preliminaries, we can take a clear view of the English 
infinitives. They exist under two forms, and are referable to a 
double origin : 



THE VERB. 315 

1. The Independent form. This is used after the words can, may, 
will, and some others ; as, I coin speak ; I may go ; I shall come ; 1 
will move. Here there is no preposition, and the origin of the in- 
finitive is from the form in -an. 

2. The Prepositional form. This is used after the majority of 
English verbs ; as, / wish to speak ; I mean to go ; I intend to come ; 
I determine to move. Here we have the preposition to, and the ori- 
gin of the infinitive is from the form in -nne. Expressions like to 
err=error, to forgive .= forgiveness, in lines like 

" To err is human ; to forgive, divine !" 

are very remarkable. They exhibit the phenomena of a nominative 
case having grown, not only out of a dative, but out of a dative 
plus its governing preposition. — Latham's English Language. 

THE NUMBER OF MODES. 

§ 336. Not only languages differ as to the number of modes 
which, by general consent, are attributed to them, but grammarians 
differ as to the number of modes which should be attributed to the 
same language. As modes represent the conceptions and affections 
of the mind, they might be as varied and extended as those affec- 
tions. There might be the Indicative, the Subjunctive, the Potential, 
the Optative, the Imperative, Infiiiitive, Vocative, Precative, Interrogative, 
Causal, Reflective, &c. Modes are defined by Priscian, " Modi sunt 
diversee inclinationes animi, quas varise consequuntur declinationes 
verbi." Modes represent the different feelings of the mind, to 
which feelings the varied inflections of the verb are adapted. It is 
said that the Arabic has thirteen modes, the Russian seven, the 
Sanscrit six, the Anglo-Saxon four, the same number which some 
of the most respectable grammarians have assigned to the English 
as received by inheritance from the mother tongue. See § 332. 

THE PARTICIPLES. 

§ 337. A Participle is a verbal adjective, differing from oth- 
er adjectives by carrying with it the idea of time. It is so call- 
ed from the Latin particeps, partaking, because it partakes of 
the nature of the verb and the adjective. 

There are two participles ; the Present, called, also, the Imperfect 
or the Active Participle ; as, Loving ; and the Past, called, also, the 
Perfect or Passive Participle ; as, Loved, written. Besides these, 
there are certain forms called Compound Participles ; as, Being 
loved; having loved; having been loved. The last two forms are 



316 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

often called the Compound Perfect. In Anglo-Saxon, the parti- 
ciple, like the adjective, was declined ; in English, like the adjec- 
tive, it is not declined. 

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE. 

§ 338. The Present Participle ends in -ing, and expresses 
the continuance of an action, state, or being ; as, He was lov- 
ing ; they were sleeping. 

1 . In Anglo-Saxon the forms are -and and -ande ; as, Bindand, 
bindande = binding. Like the Latin participle in -ns, it was origin- 
ally declined. In all the Norse languages, ancient and modern, the 
-d is preserved. In some of the modern provincial dialects o.f En- 
gland, strikand and goand are said for striking and going. In the 
Scotch of the modern writers we find the form in : 

" The rising sun o'er Galston muirs 
Wi' glorious light was glintin; 
The hares were hirplin down the furs= (furrows) 
The lav'rocks they were chanting — Burns. 

2. This participle often has the nature of an adjective ; as, A 
loving friend. It also becomes an adverb by receiving the termina- 
tion ly ; as, Lovingly ; and admits of comparison ; as, More lovingly, 
most lovingly. 

3. This participle also becomes a noun, and admits the articles; 
as, "The burning of London in 1666." "There was a leaning to 
popery." In this capacity it takes the plural form ; as, " The over- 
flowings of the Nile." 

4. "It is to be observed, also, that in English there are two infin- 
itives : one in ing, the same in sound and spelling as the participle 
present, from which, however, it should be carefully distinguished ; 
e. g., ' Rising early is healthful,' and ' It is healthful to rise early,' 
are equivalent. Grammarians have produced much needless per- 
plexity by speaking of the participle in ' ing 1 being employed so and 
so-, when it is manifest that that very employment of the word con- 
stitutes it, to all intents and purposes, an infinitive, and not a parti- 
ciple. The advantage of the infinitive in ing is, that it may be used 
either in the nominative or in any oblique case ; not, as some sup- 
pose, that it necessarily implies a habit ; e. g., ' Seeing is believing ;' 
'There is glory in dying for one's country.'" 

"While Whately thus proposes to class the present participle with 
the infinitive mode, Kuhner, in his Greek Grammar, classes the in- 
finitive mode with the participles. In the present state of philology, 
the common classification may be conveniently adhered to. 



THE VERB. 317 



THE PAST PARTICIPLE. 

§ 339. The Past Participle, called, also, the perfect, or the 
passive participle, has different terminations, according as it 
comes from the ancient or strong conjugation, or the modern or 
weak conjugation. For the meaning of the terms strong and 
weak, see § 348. 

I. The participle in -en; as, Spoken. In the Anglo-Saxon, the 
participle formed from verbs in the ancient strong conjugation al- 
ways ended in -en ; as, Bunden. In English, this -en is often want- 
ing ; as, Bound ; the word bounden being antiquated. Words, when 
the -en is wanting, may be viewed under two aspects : 1. They may 
be looked upon as participles that have lost their termination ; 
2. They may be considered as preterits with a participial sense. 

1. In all words in which the vowel of the plural differs from that 
of the singular in Anglo-Saxon, the participle takes the plural form ; 
as, Drank, drunk, drunken. See § 324. T?o say / have drunk is to 
use an ambiguous expression, since drunk may be a participle minus 
its termination, or a preterit with a participial sense. To say I 
have drank, is to use a preterit for a participle. To say I have 
drunken is to use an unexceptionable form. 

In all words with a double form, as spake and spoke, brake and 
broke, the participle follows the form in o ; as, Spoken, broken. 
Spaken, broken, are forms not in the language. . There are degrees 
of laxity, and to say the spear is broke is better than to say the spear 
is brake. 

2. These two statements bear upon the future history of the pret- 
erit. That of the two forms sang and sung, one will, in the course 
of long usage, become obsolete, is nearly certain ; and as the plural 
form is also that of the participle, it is the plural form that is most 
likely to be the surviving one. 

3. As a general rule, we find the participle in -en wherever the 
preterit is strong ; indeed, the participle in -en may be considered 
the strong participle, or the participle of the strong conjugation. 
Still, the two forms do not always coincide. In mow, mowed, mown ; 
sow, sowed, sown, and several other words, we find the participle 
strong and the preterit weak. 

II. The participle in -d, -t, or -ed ; as, Loved, left, looked. In An- 
glo-Saxon, it differed in form from the preterit, inasmuch as it end- 
ed in -ed or -t, whereas the preterit ended in -ode, -de, or -te ; as, 
Lufode, barnde, dypte, preterits ; Gelufod, b&rned, dypt, participles. 



318 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

The perfect participle often loses its verbal character and becomes 
an adjective ; as, A drunken man ; a concealed plot. In this char- 
acter it admits of comparison ; as, A more admired artist ; a most re- 
spected magistrate. A few of these verbal adjectives receive the 
termination of -ly and become adverbs ; as, Pointedly ; more conceit- 
edly ; most dejectedly. 

In older writers, and in works written, like Thomson's Castle of 
Indolence, in imitation of them, we find prefixed to the past parti- 
ciple the letter y ; as, Yclept = called ; y clad— clothed. 

It has grown out of the fuller forms of ge : Anglo-Saxon g<>, Old 
Saxon gi, Mceso-Gothic ga. It has also the power of expressing the 
possession of a quality. 

Anglo-Saxon. English. Anglo-Saxon. Latin. 

Feax, hair. g-e-feax, comatus. 

Heorte, heart. ^e-heart, cordatus. 

Hence it is probable that the ga, hi, or gi, Gothic, is the con- of the 
Latin language. 

CONJUGATION. 

§ 340. Conjugation is the distribution of the several inflec- 
tions or variations of a verb in their different voices, modes, 
tenses, numbers, and persons. The conjugation of a verb in the 
active form is called the Active voice, and that in the passive 
form the Passive voice. As English verbs have but few inflec- 
tions, their conjugation consists chiefly of variation accomplished 
by means of auxiliary verbs. 

AUXILIARY VERBS. 

§ 341. Auxiliary Verbs, or Helping' Verbs, perform the 
same office in the conjugation of principal verbs which inflec- 
tion does in the classical languages, though even in those lan- 
guages the substantive verb is sometimes used as a helping verb ; 
as, Amatus eram, /3e6ovXev[i£voc rjv. They are followed by the 
other verbs without the prefix to in the infinitive ; as, " He may 
goP They were originally principal verbs, and some of them 
retain that character as well as that of auxiliaries. 

CLASSIFICATION OF AUXILIARY VERBS. 

§ 342. I. The verbs that are always auxiliary to others are, 
May; can, shall, must ; II. Those that are sometimes auxiliary 



THE VERB. 31$ 

and sometimes principal verbs are, Will, have, do, be, and let. 
Let and must have no variation. The power of the verb as an 
auxiliary is a modification of the original power which it had as 
a non-auxiliary. 

DERIVATION OF AUXILIARY VERBS. 

§ 343. I. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of possession: 
Have, Anglo-Saxon habban, to have. It is used both as a principal 
and as an auxiliary verb. See § 345. 

II. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of existence : Be, am, 
was. A corresponding word is used as an auxiliary in both the 
Latin and the Greek languages. See § 346. 

III. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of future destination, 
dependent on circumstances external to the agent: Shall, Anglo- 
Saxon sceal=nnecesse est ; debeo. In the first person it simply fore- 
tells ; as, " I shall go to New York to-morrow." In this phrase the 
word seems to have no reference to obligation ; but in its primitive 
sense it denotes to be obliged, coinciding nearly with ought. When 
shall is used in the second and third persons, it assumes its primitive 
sense, or one allied to it, implying obligation ; as, when a superior 
commands with authority, You shall go. Hence shall, in the first 
person, foretells ; in the second and third, promises, commands, or ex- 
presses determination. See § 345. 

Should (preterit of shall) expresses duty, supposition ; as, " You 
should pay the money ;" " If it should rain to-morrow, I shall not be 
able to keep my promise." Should is also used to express an opin- 
ion doubtfully or modestly ; as, " I should think. so." 

IV. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of future destination, 
dependent on the volition of the agent : Will, Anglo-Saxon willan. 
Will, in the first person, not only foretells, but promises ; in the sec- 
ond and third, it only foretells. See § 345. 

Would (preterit of will) properly implies volition, but, like should, 
is frequently used as a simple future, dependent on a verb of past 
time ; as, " He said it would rain to-day ;" " He promised me that 
he should go to-morrow." See § 345. 

1. There is the same difference between would and should that 
there is between will and shall, when used with the past tenses. 
Would promises or threatens in the first person, and simply foretells 
in the others. Should simply foretells, in the first person, and prom- 
ises or threatens in the other persons. 

2. When the second and third persons are represented as the sub- 
jects of their own expressions, shall foretells, as in the frst person ; 



*$20 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

as, " He says that he shall be a loser by this bargain ;" " Do you 
suppose you shall go ?" Will, in such instances, promises, as in the 
first person : " You say that you will be present ;" " He says he will 
attend to the business?" 

3. In interrogative sentences, shall and will have, in general, a 
meaning nearly opposite to what they have in affirmative sentences. 
Shall, used interrogatively, in the first, second, and third persons, 
refers to another's will; thus, "Shall I go ?" signifies, Will you per- 
mit me to go ? Will, used interrogatively, in the second and third 
persons, denotes volition or determination in the subject; as, "Will 
you go?" 

4. When the verb is in the subjunctive mode, the meaning of 
shall and will undergoes some alteration ; thus, " He shall proceed" 
expresses a command, but " If he shall proceed" expresses a mere 
future contingency. 

V. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of power, dependent 
upon circumstances external to the agent : May, Anglo-Saxon ma- 
gan. " He may purchase the field if he pleases ;" " He might (pret- 
erit) purchase the field if he pleased." May, when it stands before 
its subject, expresses a wish : May he come ; might it but turn out 
well. See § 345. 

VI. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of power, dependent on 
circumstances internal to the agent : Can, Anglo-Saxon cunnan = to 
know how to do. May is simply permissive, can is potential. "May 
et can cum eorum preteritis might et could potentiam innuunt ; cum 
hoc discrimine : May et might vel de jure vel saltern de rei possibil- 
itate dicuntur, at can et could de viribus agentis." — Wallis, p. 107. 

VII. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of necessity : Must, 
Anglo-Saxon mot — ought, or necesse est. 

" For as the fisse, if it be dry, 
Mote, in defaute of water, die." — Gower. 

Must, and likewise may and can (as well as can not), are each 
used in two senses, which are often confounded together. They re- 
late sometimes to power and sometimes to contingency. 

When we say of one who has obtained a certain sum of money, 
" Now he may purchase the field he was wishing for," we mean 
that it is in his power ; it is plain that he may, in the same sense, 
hoard up money, or spend it on something else, though, perhaps, we 
are not quite sure, from our knowledge of his character and situa- 
tion, that he will not. When, again, we say, " It may rain to-mor- 
row," or, " The vessel may have arrived in port," the expression does 
not at all relate to power, but only to contingency ; i. c., we mean, 



THE VERB. 321 

that though we are not sure such an event will happen or has hap- 
pened, we are not sure of the reverse. 

"When, again, we say, " This man, of so grateful a disposition, 
must have eagerly embraced such an opportunity of requiting his 
benefactor;" or of one who approves of the slave trade, "He must 
be very hard-hearted," we only mean to imply the absence of all 
doubt on these points. The very notions of gratitude and of hard- 
heartedness exclude the idea of compulsion. But when we say that 
" all men must die," or that " a man must go to prison who is dragged 
by force," we mean " whether they will or not ;" that there is no 
power to resist. 

VIII. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of sufferance : Let, 
Anglo-Saxon lcstan=z suffer, permit. Besides permission, it may ex- 
press wishes, requests, commands, and exhortations. It is used only 
in the imperative mode. 

IX. Auxiliary verb, derived from the idea of action : Do, Anglo- 
Saxon don. Do and did, used as auxiliaries, mark the emphatic 
form of the verb ; as, " I do teach ;" " I did teach." They are gen- 
erally used in negative and interrogative sentences ; as, " I do not 
fear ;" "Did he hear ?'* It sometimes supplies the place of a verb 
previously used ; as, " You attend not to your studies as he does" 
that is, as he attends. 

CLASSIFICATION OF AUXILIARY VERBS, IN RESPECT 
TO THEIR MODE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

§ 344. Auxiliary verbs combine with others in three ways: 1. 
With participles : (a) with the present or active participle, I am 
speaking ; (b) with the past or passive participle, I am beaten ; I have 
beaten. 2. With infinitives: (a) with an objective infinitive, I can 
speak; (b) with the gerundial infinitive, I have to speak. 3. With 
both infinitives and participles, I shall have done ; I mean to have 
done. 

§ 345. CONJUGATION OF THE AUXILIARY VERBS. 

MAY. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may. 1. We may. 

2. Thou mayest (you may). 2. Ye or you may. 

3. He may. 3. They may. 

X 



322 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might. 1. We might. 

2. Thou mightest (you might). 2. Ye or you might. 

3. He might. 3. They might. 

CAN. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I can. 1. "We can. 

2. Thou canst (you can). 2. Ye or you can. 

3. He can. 3. They can. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I could. 1. We could. 

2. Thou couldst (you could). 2. Ye or you could. 

3. He could. 3. They could. 

SHALL. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall. 1. We shall. 

2. Thou shalt (you shall). 2. Ye or you shall. 

3. He shall. 3. They shall. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I should. 1. We should. 

2. Thou shouldst (you should). 2. Ye or you should. 

3. He should. 3. They should. 

WILL. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will. 1. We will. 

2. Thou wilt (you will). 2. Ye or you will. 

3. He will. 3. They will. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I would. 1. We would. 

2. Thou wouldst (you would). 2. Ye or you would. 

3. He would. 3. They would. 

MUST. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. 1 must. 1. We must. 

2, Thou must (you must). 2. Ye or you must. 

3. He must. 3. They must. 



THE VERB. 323 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I must have. 1. We must have. 

2. Thou {or you) must have. 2. Ye or you must have, 

3. He must have. 3. They must have. 

DO. 
INDICATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I do. l.Wedo. 

2. Thou dost (you do). 2. Ye or you do. 

3. He does or doth. 3. They do. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I did. 1. We did. 

2. Thou didst (you did). 2. Ye or you did. 

3. He did. 3. They did. 

Infinitive Mode. — Present Tense, To do. Past Tense, To have 
done. Participles : Present Tense, Doing. Past or Perfect Tense, 
Done. Compound Perfect, Having done. 







HAVE. 










indicative 


MODE. 


1. 


Singular. 

I have. 


Present Tense 
1. 


Plural. 

We have. 


2. 
3. 


Thou hast (you 
He has or hath, 


have). 


2. 
3. 


Ye or you have. 
They have. 


1. 


Singular. 

I had. 


Past Tense. 
1. 


Plural. 

We had. 


2. 
3. 


Thou hadst (you had). 
He had. 


2. 
3. 


Ye or you had. 
They had. 



Note. — In the foregoing tenses, this verb is used either as a prin- 
cipal verb or as an auxiliary. 

Infinitive Mode. — Present Tense, To have. Perfect Tense, To 
have had. Present Participle, Having. Past or Perfect, Had. Com- 
pound Perfect, Having had. 

The words did, hast, hath, has, had, shalt, wilt, are evident- 
ly, as "Wallis observes, contracted for doed, havest, haveth, 
haves, haved, shallst, willst. 



324 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

THE VERB SUBSTANTIVE. 

§ 346. The Verb Substantive is made up of three different 
verbs, each of which is defective in some of its parts, namely, 
Was, be, am. The parts which are defective in one verb are 
supplied by the inflections of one of the others. 

I. Was is defective, except in the preterit tense, where it is found 
both in the indicative and the subjunctive. In the older stages of 
the Gothic languages the word has both a full conjugation and a 
regular one. In the Anglo-Saxon it has an infinitive, a participle 
present, and a participle past. In Mceso-Gothic it is inflected 
throughout with s ; as, Visa, vas, vesum, visans. In that language it 
has the power of the Latin maneoz=zto remain. 

II. Be is inflected, in Anglo-Saxon, throughout the present tense, 
both indicative and subjunctive ; found, also, as an infinitive, beon; 
as a gerund, to beonne ; and as a participle, beonde. 

The ancient form was as follows : 

present. 
Indicative. Subjunctive. Imperative. 

Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. 

1. I be, We be. I be, We be. 

2. Thou beest, Ye be. Thou be, Ye be. Be thou, Be ye, 

3. He be, They be. He be, They be. 

It is stated by Grimm, D. C, i., 1051, that the Anglo-Saxon forms 
beo, bist, bi%, beo$, or beo, have not a present, but a future sense ; 
that while am means / am, beo means / shall be ; and that in the 
older languages, it is only where the form am is not found that be 
has the 1 power of a present form. 

If we consider the word beon, like the word weorSan (see below), 
io mean not so much to be as to become, we get an element of futu- 
rity ; and from the idea of futurity we get the idea of contingency, 
and this explains the subjunctive power of be. 

III. Am. The m is no part of the original word, but only a sign 
of the first person, just as it is in all the Indo-European languages. 
Am, art, are, and is, are not, like am and was, parts of different 
words, but forms of one and the same word. 

1. The substantive verb is used, 1st. As an auxiliary in the pas- 
r-ivc voice. 2d. As a copula, in connecting the predicate of a prop- 
osition with the subject. 3d. In predicating pure or absolute exist- 
ence ; as, God is ; that is, God exists. In the following example it 
is used in each of the last two senses : " We believe that thou art, 



THE VERB. 325 

and that thou art the rewarder of them who diligently seek thee " 
It was called by the Latins the substantive verb, in distinction from 
verbs which, besides the copula, contain in themselves an attribute, 
and which are called adjective verbs. See § 319. 

2. This verb differs so much from other verbs that it is separated 
from them by some grammarians, and classed with relational words, 
as if its office were merely to indicate a relation, viz., that of the 
predicative adjective or substantive to the subject, or else those of 
mode, time, and personality. See § 318. 

IV. Worth is a fragment of the Anglo-Saxon iveorSan, to be> } 
or to become. 

" Much wo worth the man that misruleth his inwitte ! 
And well worth Piers Plowman that pursueth God in his going." 

Piers Plowman. 

" Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, 
That cost thy life, my gallant gray." — Lady of the Lake. 

" Thus saith the Lord God, ' Howl ye and say, woe worth the 
day.' " — Ezekiel, xxx., 2. 

Several other verbs, such as to become, to grow, are nearly 
allied to substantive verbs. 

§347. CONJUGATION OF THE VERB u TO BE." 
PRINCIPAL PARTS. 

Present, Am. Past, Was. Perf. Part., Been. 







INDICATIVE MODE. 






Present Tense 




1. 


Singular. 

I am. 


1. 


Plural. 

We are. 


2. 


Thou art (you are). 2. 


Ye or you are. 


3. 


He is. 


3. 


They are. 






Past Tense {Preterit). 




Singular. 




Plural. 


1. 


I was. 


1. 


We were. 


2. 


Thou wast (you 


were). 2. 


Ye or you were. 


3. 


He was. 


3. 


They were. 



Future Tense (Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall be. 1. We shall be. 

2. Thou wilt be (you will be). 2. Ye or you will be. 

3. He will be. 3. They will be. 



326 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Future Tense (Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will be. 1. We will be. 

2. Thou shalt be (you shall be). 2. Ye or you shall be. 

3. He shall be. 3. They shall be. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have been. 1. "We have been. 

2. Thou hast been (you have been). 2. Ye or you have been. 

3. He has been. 3. They have been. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1,1 had been. 1 . We had been. 

2. Thou hadst been (you had been). 2. Ye or you had been. 

3. He had been. 3. They had been. 

Future Perfect Tense (Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1 . I shall have been. 1 . We shall have been. 

2. Thou wilt have been (you will 2. Ye or you will have been. 

have been). 

3. He will have been. 3. They will have been. 

Future Perfect Tense (Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will have been. 1. We will have been. 

2. Thou shalt have been (you 2. Ye or you shall have been. 

shall have been). 

3. He shall have been. 3. They will have been. 

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I be. 1. If we be. 

2. If thou be (if you be). 2. If ye or you be. 

3. If he be. 3. If they be. 

Present Tense, Second Form. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I am. 1. If we are. 

2. If thou art (if you are). 2. If ye or you are. 

3. If he is. 3. If they are. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I were. 1. If we were. 

2. If thou wert (if you were). 2. If ye or you were. 

3. If he were. 3. If they were. 



THE VERB. 327 

Past Tense, Second Form. 

Singular. Plural. 

1 . If I was. 1 . If we were. 

2. If thou wast (if you were). 2. If ye or you were. 

3. If he was. 3. If they were. 

Future Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I shall or will be. 1. If we shall or will be. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt be (if 2. If ye or you shall or will be. 

you shall or will be). 

3. If he shall or will be. 3. If they shall or will be. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I have been. 1. If we have been. 

2. If thou hast been (if you have 2. If ye or you have been. 

been). 

3. If he has been. 3. If they have been. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I had been. 1. If we had been. 

2. If thou hadstbeen (if you had 2. If ye or you had been. 

been). 

3. If he had been. 3. If they had been. 

Future Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I shall or will have been. 1. If we shall or will have been. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt have 2. If ye or you shall or will have 

been (if you shall or will been, 

have been). 

3. If he shall or will have been. 3. If they shall or will have been. 

The potential forms are converted into the subjunctive by pre- 
fixing if or some similar conjunction. See § 334. 

POTENTIAL MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may, can, or must be. 1. We may, can, or must be. 
( Thou mayest, canst, or must be. ( Ye may, can, or must be. 

' ( (You may, can, or must be.) ' < You may, can, or must be. 

3. He may, can, or must be. 3. They may, can, or must be. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should be. 1. We might, could, would, or should be. 
( Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or ,■ 

2. ) shouldst be. 2. 1° migh *' C0U1 ^' W0U1 ?' ° r ^uld be. 
I (You might, could, would, orshouldbe.) l You mi S ht > could, would, or should be. 

3. He might, could, would, or should be. 3. They might, could, would, orshouldbe. 



328 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may, can, or must have been. 1. We may, can, or must have been. 

< Thou mayest, canst, or must have been. < Ye may, can, or must have been. 

' ( (You may, can, or must have been.) ' ( You may, can, or must have been. 

3. He may, can, or must have been. 3. They may, can, or must have been. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should have 1. We might, could, would, or should 

been. have been. 

fThou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or fYe might, could, would, or should 

; shouldst have been. • have been. 

' j (You might, could, would, or should ' j You might, could, would, or should 

V have been). V have been. 

3. He might, could, would, or should 3. They might, could, would, or should 

have been. have been. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 

Present, To be. Present Perfect, To have been. 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Sing., 2. Be, or \ ® e thou ' Plur., 2. Be, or i Be J" 5 ' 

( Be you. ( Be you. 

3. Let him be. 3. Let them be. 

PARTICIPLES. 

r> , t> • S Past or Perfect, Been. 

Present, Being. I J ' . 

( Compound Jrerfect, Having been. 

THE ANCIENT OR STRONG CONJUGATION. 

§ 348. Yerbs of the Ancient or Strong conjugation form their 
past (or preterit) tense by simply changing the vowel. Thus 
sang is formed from sing by changing i into a ; fell (the past 
tense) from fall, the present, by changing the a into e. They 
are called strong, because the preterit is thus formed independ- 
ently from within itself, without any addition. Verbs like 
fill are called weak, because they require the aid of addition 
from without to the present, to form the preterit ; as, Fill, 
filled. Here the addition of the sound of d is necessary. See 
§ 356. 

1. Yerbs of the ancient conjugation form their participle passive 
by the addition of -en, generally accompanied by a change of vowel ; 
as, Speak, spoken. Sometimes the -en, in the present language, is 
omitted; as, Find, found. In all these cases it must especially be 
remembered that this rejection of the -en occurs in the later stages 



THE VERB. 



^29 



of our language, In words like found the original participle was 
funden, and so on throughout. In many cases both forms occur ; 
as, Drink ; participle drunken or drunk. 

2. The vowel of the participle is often, though not always (took, 
taken), the same as the vowel of the past tense ; as, Spoke, spoken* 
"When this is the case, and when, at the same time, the -en (or -n) 
is rejected, the past tense and the participle passive have the same 
form ; as, I found; I have found. In this case it seems as if the past 
tense were used^brthe participle. Now it is only in a few words, 
and in the most modern forms of our language, that this is really 
done ; as, Hold, present ; held, past ; holden, obsolete past ; held, past. 
The participle is naturally formed independently of the preterit. 

3. The participles passive are exhibited in the fourth and fifth 
columns of the ensuing list. The fourth column contains the full 
participles in -en, the fifth those where the n is omitted. The as- 
terisk (*) in this and the other columns denotes that those w r ords 
are more or less obsolete. The note of interrogation (?) denotes that 
it is matter of doubt whether the word to which it is attached be 
sufficiently established by usage. 

4. The past tenses of the ancient verbs are exhibited in the sec- 
ond and third columns of the ensuing list, the second column being 
appropriated to those that have two forms. The letter p stands for 
plural, and it is supposed that the forms by the side of which it ap- 
pears are derived from the plural forms, as exhibited in § 324, or 
from (what is the same thing) those of the second person singular, 
as exhibited in the same section. 

Several ancient verbs have two forms of the past tense ; as, Spake, 
spoke; sang, sung. Some of these double forms are capable of ex- 
planation- See § 324. 



Present. 

Fall, 

Befall, 

Hold, 

Draw, 

Show, 
Slay, 

Fly, 
Blow, 



Past Tense. 

(First Form.) 

fell, 

befell, 

held, 

drew, 

shew, 
slew, 
flew, 

blew, 



FIRST CLASS. 
Past Tense. 

(Second Form.; 



SECOND 



THIRD 



Participle. 

(Full Form.) 

fallen, 

befallen, 

holden, 

CLASS. 

drawn, 
shown, 
slain, 
flown, 

CLASS. 

blown, 



Participle. 

(Shortened Form. 



held. 



330 

Present. 

Crow, 
Know, 
Grow, 
Throw, 

Let, 

Beat, 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Past Tense. Past Tense. Participle. Participle. 

(First Form.) (Second Form.) (Full Form.) (Shortened Form.) 

crew, *crown, . 

knew, known, 

grew, grown, 

threw, thrown, ■ 



let, 



FOURTH CLASS. 



let. 



FIFTH CLASS. 

beat, beaten, beat. 



Come, 
Overcome, 

Heave, 

Cleave, 

Weave, 

Freeze, 

Steal, 

Speak, 

Swear, 

Bear, 

Bear, 

Forbear, 

Tear, 

Shear, 

Wear, 

Break, 

Shake, 

Take, 

Forsake, 

Stand, 

Understand, 

Get, 

Beget, 

Forget, 



Speak, 
Break, 



SIXTH CLASS. 

came, 
overcame, 



come, 
overcome. 



SEVENTH CLA 



hove, 

clove, 

wove, 

froze, 

stole, 

spoke, 

swore, 

bore, 

bore, 

forbore, 

tore, 

*shore, 

wore, 

broke, 

shook, 

took, 

forsook, 

stood, 

understood, 

got, 

begot, 

forgot, 

quoth, 



*clave, 



*stale, 

*spake, 

*sware, 

*bare, 

*bare, 

*tare, 

*ware, 
brake, 



*gat, 

*begat, 

*forgat, 



*hoven, 

cloven, 

woven, 

frozen. 

stolen, 

spoken, 

sworn, 

borne. 

born. 

forborne, 

torn. 

shorn, 

worn, 

broken, 

shaken, 

taken, 

forsaken, 



gotten, 

begotten, 

forgotten, 



?tore. 



?broke. 



stood. 

understood. 

?got. 

?begot. 
forgot. 



EIGHTH CLASS. 

spoke, *spake, spoken, 
broke, brake, broken, 



?broke. 



THE VERB. 



331 



Present. 

Cleave, 

Steal, 

Eat, 

Seethe, 

Tread, 

Bear, 

Tear, 

Swear, 

Wear, 

Bid, 

Sit, 

Give, 

Lie, 

Get, 

Forgive, 

Forbid, 



Wake, 

Awake, 

Lade, 

Grave, 

Shape, 

Take, 

Shake, 

Forsake, 



Past Tense. 

(First Form.) 

clove, 

stole, 

ate, 

*sothe, 

trod, 

bore, 

tore, 

swore, 

wore, 

bade, 

sate, 

gave, 

lay, 

got, 

forgave, 

forbade, 



woke, 
awoke, 
*lode, 
*grove, 



Past Tense. 

(Second Form.) 

*clave, 

*stale, 

eat, 

*sod, 

*trad, 

*bare, 

*tare, 

*sware, 

*ware, 



bid, 



'gat, 



Participle. 

(Full Form.) 

cloven, 

stolen, 

eaten, 

sodden, 

trodden, 

born, 

torn, 

sworn, 

worn, 

bidden, 

*sitten, 

given, 

lain, 

gotten, 

forgiven, 



Participle. 

(Shortened Form.) 



eat. 



trod. 



?tore. 



bid. 
sat. 



got. 



forbid, 

NINTH CLASS. 



took, 

shook, 

forsook, 



forbidden, forbid. 



waken, 

awaken, 

laden. 



graven, 

shapen, 

taken, 

shaken, 

forsaken, 



Strike, 



TENTH CLASS. 



struck, 



stricken, struck. 





ELEVENTH CLASS. 




Rise, 


rose, 


*ris, 


risen. 




Arise, 


arose, 
abode, 
shone, 

smote, 


*aris, p. 


arisen, 
*abidden, 




Shine, 
Smite, 




shone. 
( *smit. 
< Tsmote. 


*smit, p. 


smitten, 


Ride, 


rode, 


*xid,p. 


ridden, 


{ ?rode. 
( *rid. 


Stride, 


strode, 


*strid,^>. 


stridden, 


( ?strode. 
( *strid. 


Glide, 


*glode, 




*glidden, 


*glid. 



832 

Present. 

Drive, 

Thrive, 

Chide, 

Slide, 

Strive, 

Write, 

Ciimb, 

Slit, 

Bite, 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



Past Tense. 

(First Form.) 

drove, 

throve, 

*chode, 

*slode, 

strove, 

wrote, 

*clomb, 

*slat, 
*bat, 



Past Tense. 

(Second Form.) 



chid, 
*slid, p. 

writ, p. 

slit, jo. 
bit, p. 



Participle. 

(Full Form.) 

driven, 

thriven, 

chidden, 

slidden, 

striven, 

written, 

*slitten, 
bitten, 



Participle. 

(Shortened Form.) 



?chid. 
?slid. 

1 wrote, 
writ. 

slit, 
bit. 



TWELFTH CLASS. 



Swim, 

Begin, 

Spin, 

Win, 

Sing, 

Swing, 

Spring, 

Sting, 

Ring, 

Wring, 

Fling, 

Cling, 

*Hing, 

String, 

Sling, 

Sink, 

Drink, 

Shrink, 

Stink, 

*Swink, 

Slink, 

Swell, 

Melt, 

Help, 

Delve, 

Dig, 

Stick, 

Run, 

Burst, 



swam, 

began, 

*span, 

*wan, 

sang, 

*swang, 

sprang, 

*stang, 

rang, 

*wrang, 

*flang, 

*clang, 

hang, 

*strang, 

*slang, 

sank, 

drank, 

*shrank, 

*stank, 

*swank, 

*slank, 

*swoll, 

*molt, 

*holp, 

*dolve, 

dug, 

*stack, 

ran, 

*brast, 



swum, p. 
begun, jo. 
spun, p. 
won, p. 
sung, p. 
swung, p. 
sprung, p. 
stung, p. 
rung, p. 
wrung, p. 



nun 



^ 



P- 



clung, p. 
hung, p. 
strung, p. 
slung, p. 
sunk, p. 
drunk, p. 
shrunk, p. 
stunk, p. 
*swunk, p. 
slunk,/?. 



stuck, 
run, p. 
burst, 



? sungen, 



sunken, 

drunken, 

shrunken, 



*swunken, 



swollen, 
molten, 
*holpen, 
*dolven, 



bursten, 



swum. 

begun. 

spun. 

won. 

sung. 

swung. 

sprung. 

stung. 

rung. 

wrung. 

flung. 

clung. 

hung. 

strung. 

slung. 

sunk. 

drunk. 

shrunk. 

stunk. 

*swunk, 

slunk. 



stuck. 



burst. 



THE VERB. 



333 



Present. 

Bind, 
Find, 
Grind, 
Wind, 

Choose, 



Past Tense. 

(First Form.) 

*band, 
*fand, 
*grand, 
*wand, 



Past Tense. 

(Second Form.) 

bound, 
found, 
ground, 



Participle. Participle. 

(Full Form.) (Shortened Form.) 

bounden, bound. 

found. 

ground. 

wound. 



THIRTEENTH CLASS. 

chose, chosen. 



Obsolete Forms. — Instead of lept, slept, mowed, and snowed, we 
find, in the provincial dialects and in the older writers, the strong 
forms lep, slep, mew, snew, &c. Here there are two forms, and each 
form is of a different conjugation. 

Double Forms. — In lep and mew we have two forms, of which 
only one is current. In swoll and swelled, in clomb and climbed, and 
in hung and hanged, we have two forms, of which both are current. 
These latter are true double forms, of which there are two kinds : 
1. Those like swoll and swelled, where there is th.e same tense, but a 
different conjugation. 2. Those like spoke and spake, where the 
tense is the same and the conjugation the same, but where the form 
is different. 

§349. CONJUGATION OF THE STRONG VERB "TO 

TAKE." 

(Commonly called Irregular.) 

ACTIVE VOICE. 

Principal Parts. 

Present, Take. Past, Took. Perf. Part., Taken. 

INDICATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. 

1. I take. 

2. Thou takest (you take). 2. Ye or you take. 

3. They take. 

Past Tense [Preterit). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. We took. 

2. Ye or you took. 

3. They took. 

Future Tense [Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall take. 4 1. We shall take. 

2. Thou wilt take (you will take). 2. Ye or you will take. 

3. He will take. 3. They will take. 



3, He taketh or takes. 



1. I took. 

2. Thou tookest (you took). 

3. He took. 



Plural. 

1. We take. 



334 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Future Tense (Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will take. 1. We will take. 

2. Thou shalttake (you shall take). 2. Ye or you shall take. 

3. He shall take. 3. They shall take. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have taken. 1. We have taken. 

2. Thou hast taken (you have 2. Ye or you have taken, 

taken). 

3. He has taken. 3. They have taken. . 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had taken. 1. We had taken. 

2. Thou hadst taken (you had ta- 2. Ye or you had taken. 

ken). 

3. He had taken. 3. They had taken. 

Future Perfect Tense (Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. 1 shall have taken. 1. We shall have taken. 

2. Thou wilt have taken (you will 2. Ye or you will have taken. 

have taken). 

3. He will have taken. 3. They will have taken. 

Future Perfect Tense {Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will have taken. 1. We will have taken. 

2. Thou shalt have taken (you 2. Ye or you shall have taken. 

will have taken). 

3. He shall have taken. 3. He shall have taken. 

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I take. 1. If we take. 

2. If thou take (if you take). 2. If ye or you take. 

3. If he take. 3. If they take. 

TWO FORMS OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

§ 350. The subjunctive mode of common verbs in the active has 
two forms in the present tense, one of which is given in the conju- 
gation of the verb To take, and the other is the same as that of the 
indicative. The forms for the other tenses of that voice are the 
same as those for the indicative, with this difference in the futures, 
that the distinction between shall and will in the different persons 
of the verb which obtains in the indicative is not observed in the 



THE VERB. 335 

subjunctive mode. Thus we can say, If I shall take, if thou shalt 
take, if he shall take ; and with the other we can say, If I will take, 
if thou wilt take, if he will take. In the passive voice the subjunc- 
tive mode has two forms in the present and past tenses, one of which 
is given, and the other is the same as the indicative. The other 
tenses, with the exception of the futures, which are given, are the 
same as the indicative. 

POTENTIAL MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. 1 may, can, or must take. 1. We may, can, or must take. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must take. 2. Ye may, can, or must take. 
(You may, can, or must take.) You may, can, or must take. 

3. He may, can, or must take. 3. They may, can, or must take. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. 1 might, could, would, or should take. 1. We might, could, would, or should take. 

2. Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should take. 

shouldst take. 
(You might, could, would, or should take). You might, could, would, or should take. 

3. He might, could, would, or should take. 3. They might, could, would, or should take. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. 1 may, can, or must have taken. 1. We may, can, or must have taken. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must have taken. 2. Ye may, can, or must have taken. 
(You may, can, or must have taken.) You may, can, or must have taken. 

3. He may, can, or must have taken. 3. They may, can, or must have taken. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should have 1. We might, could, would, or should have 

taken. taken. 

2. Thou mightest. couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should have 

shouldst have taken. taken. 

(You might, could, would, or should have You might, could, would, or should have 

taken.) taken. 

3. He might, could, would, or should have 3. They might, could, would, or should have 

taken. taken. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 

Present, To take. Present Perfect, To have taken. 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Sing., 2. Take, or \ Jake thou. p/ 2 ^ Qr < Take ye. 
6 ' t Take you. I Take you. 

3. Let him take. 3. Let them take. 

PARTICIPLES. 

p „ , . { Past or Perfect, Taken. 

< Compound Perfect, Having taken. 



336 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



PASSIVE VOICE. 

INDICATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I am taken. 1. We are taken. 

2. Thou art taken (you are taken). 2. Ye or you are taken. 

3. He is taken. 3. They are taken. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I was taken. 1. We were taken. 

2. Thou wast taken (you were 2. Ye or you were taken. 

taken). 

3. He was taken. 3. They were taken. 

Future Tense [Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall he taken. 1. We shall be taken. 

2. Thou wilt be taken (you will be 2. Ye or you will be taken, 

taken). 

3. He will be taken. 3. They will be taken. 

Future Tense (Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will be taken. 1. We will be taken. 

2. Thou shalt be taken (you shall 2. Ye or you shall be taken. 

be taken). 

3. He shall be taken. 3. They shall be taken. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have been taken. 1. We have been taken. 

2. Thou hast been taken (you have 2. Ye or you have been taken. 

been taken). 

3. He has been taken. 3. They have been taken. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had been taken. 1. We had been taken. 

2. Thou hadst been taken (you had 2. Ye or you had been taken. 

been taken). 

3. He had been taken. 3. They had been taken. 

Future Perfect Tense (Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have been taken. 1. We shall have been taken. 

2. Thou wilt have been taken (you 2. Ye or you will have been 

will have been taken). taken. 

3. He will have been taken 3. They will have been taken. 



THE VERB. 



337 



Future Perfect Tense (Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. 1 will have been taken. 1. I will have been taken. 

2. Thou shalt have been taken 2. Ye or you shall have been 

(you shall have been taken). taken. 

3. He shall have been taken. 3. He shall have been taken. 



SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If we be taken. 

2. If ye be taken. 
If you be taken. 

3. If they be taken. 

Past Tense. 

Plural. 

1 . If we were taken. 

2. If ye were taken. 
If you were taken. 

3. If they were taken. 

Future Tense. 

Plural. 

1. If I shall or will be taken. 1. If we shall or will be taken. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt be taken. 2. If ye shall or ^ill be taken. 
(If you shall or will be taken.) If you shall or will be taken. 

3. If he shall or will be taken. 3. If they shall or will be taken. 

Future Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I shall or will have been 1. If we shall or will have been 

taken. taken. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt have been 2. If ye shall or will have been 

taken. taken. 

(If you shall or will have been If you shall or will have been 

taken.) taken. 

3. If they shall or will have been 3. If they shall or will have been 

taken. taken. 



1. If I be taken. 
2. If thou be taken. 
(If you be taken.) 
3. If he be taken. 

Singular. 

1. If I were taken. 

2. If thou wast taken. 
(If you were taken.) 

3. If he were taken. 

Singular. 



POTENTIAL MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. 1 may, can, or must be taken. 1. We may, can, or must be taken. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must be taken. 2. Ye may, can, or must be taken. 
(You may, can, or must be taken.) You may, can, or must be taken. 

3. He may, can, or must be taken. 3. They may, can, or must be taken. 



338 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should be 1. We might, could, would, or should be 

taken. taken. 

2. Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should be 

shouldst be taken. taken. 

(You might, could, would, or should be You might, could, would, or should be 
taken.) taken. 

3. He might, could, would, or should be 3. They might, could, would, or should be 

taken. taken. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may, can, or must have been taken. 1. We may, can, or must have been taken. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must have been 2. Ye may, can, or must have been taken. 

taken. 
(You may, can, or must have been taken.) You may, can, or must have been taken. 

3. He may, can, or must have been taken. 3. They may, can, or must have been taken. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should have 1. We might, could, would, or should have 

been taken. been taken. 

2. Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should have 

shouldst have been taken. been taken. 

(You might, could, would, or should You might, could, would, or should have 

have been taken.) been taken. 

3. He might, could, would, or should have 3. They might, could, would, or should 

been taken. have been taken. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 

Present, To be taken. Present Perfect, To have been taken. 



IMPERATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 
Sing., 2. Be ( Be thou taken. Plur., 2. Be ( Be ye taken, 

taken, or \ Be you taken. taken, or I Be you taken. 

3. Let him be taken. 3. Let them be taken. 

PARTICIPLES. 

r, . -r, . , , i Past or Perfect, Taken. 

Present, Being taken. < _, _ -L ' .. 

I Compound Perfect, Having taken. 

PROGRESSIVE FORMS. 

§ 851. The Progressive Form of the verb is employed to de- 
note an unfinished action or state with definite time, as the com- 
mon form is employed for indefinite time. It is composed of the 
present participle and some of the forms of the verb to be, and, 
in the potential, of certain auxiliary verbs. 

INDICATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense, I am taking, thou art taking, &c. 

Past Tense, I was taking, thou wast taking, &c. 

Future, I shall be taking, thou wilt be taking, &c. 

Present Perfect, I have been taking, thou hast been taking, &c. 



THE VERB. 339 

Past Perfect, I had been taking, thou hadst been taking, &c. 
Future Perfect, I shall have been taking, thou wilt, &c. 

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

The forms of the subjunctive are the same as those of the in- 
dicative and potential, with some conditional conjunction pre- 
fixed. The present and past tenses have double forms. 

Present Tense, If I am taking, if I be taking. 
Past Tense, If I was taking, if I were taking. 

POTENTIAL M ODE. 

Present Tense, I may, can, or must be taking. 

Past Tense, I might, could, would, or should be taking. 

Present Perfect, I may, can, or must have been taking. 

Past Perfect, I might could, would, or should have been taking. 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense, Be thou taking. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 

Present Tense, To be taking. 
Present Perfect, To have been taking. 

EMPHATIC FORMS. 

§ 352. The Emphatic Form represents an act or state assert- 
ed with emphasis. It is confined to the indicative and impera- 
tive modes in the active voice. 

INDICATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense, I do take. Past Tense, I did take. 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense, Do thou take. 

§ 353. INTERROGATIVE FORMS. 

INDICATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense, Take I ? Do I take ? Am I taking 1 
Past Tense, Took I ? Did I take ? Was I taking ? 
Future Tense, Shall I or will I take ? Shall I or will I be taking 1 
Present Perfect Tense, Have I taken 1 Have I been taking? 
Past Perfect Tense, Had I taken ? Had I been taking ? 
Future Perfect, Shall I or will I have taken ? Shall I or will I have 
been taking? 

POTENTIAL MODE. 

Present Tense, May I, can I, or must I take 1 

Past Tense, Might I, could I, should I, or would I take ? 



340 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Present Perfect Tense, May I, can I, or must I have taken? 
Past Perfect, Might I, could I, would I, or should I have taken ? 

THE MODERN OR WEAK CONJUGATION. 

§ 354. Verbs of the Modern or Weak conjugation form their 
past tense or preterit from the present, by the addition of the 
sound of -d, 4, or -ed. Hence they are called weak ; they re- 
quire aid from without, instead of being changed from with- 
in, as the strong verbs are. The past participle and the preterit 
have generally the same form. 

The e of the weak, unaccented syllable ed is often dropped in 
conversation, so that the word loses its additional syllable, and, 
upon principles stated in § 133, we are forced to pronounce a t 
instead of a d. "When the e of the termination is dropped, the 
d will naturally pass into t after p and sh ; after s (when it has 
not the sound of z) ; after x, ch, and ck. Thus heaped, fished, 
kissed, fixed, preached, checked, must be pronounced heapt, 
fisht, kist, fixt, preacht, checkt. Milton and writers of his age 
spelled these words as they pronounced them : wisht, fetcht, 
siript, ivhipt, mixt. 

§355, CONJUGATION OF THE WEAK VERB "TO LOVE." 

(Commonly called Regular.) 

ACTIVE VOICE, 

Principal Parts. 

Present, Love. Past, Loved. Perfect Participle, Loved. 

INDICATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I love. 1. We love. 

2. Thou lovest (or you love). 2. Ye or you love. 

3. He loveth or loves. 3. They love. 

Past Tense (Preterit). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I loved. 1. We loved. 

2. Thou lovedst (or you loved). 2. Ye or you loved. 

3. He loved. 3. They loved. 

Future Tense (Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1, I shall love. 1. We shall love. 

2, Thou wilt love (you will love). 2. Ye or you will love. 

3, He will love. 3. They will love. 



THE VERB. 341 

Future Tense (Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will love. 1. We will love. 

2. Thou shalt love (or you shall 2. Ye or you shall love. 

love). 

3. He shall love. 3. They shall love. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have loved. 1. "We have loved. 

2. Thou hast loved (you have 2. Ye or you have loved. 

loved). 

3. He has loved. 3. They have loved. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had loved. 1. We had loved. 

2. Thou hadst loved (you had 2. Ye or you had loved. 

loved). 

3. He had loved. 3. They had loved. 

Future Perfect Tense (Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have loved. 1. We shall have loved. 

2. Thou wilt have loved (you will 2. Ye or you will have loved. 

have loved). 

3. He will have loved. 3. They will have loved. 

Future Tense (Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will have loved. 1. We will have loved. 

2. Thou shalt have loved (you 2. Ye or you shall have loved. 

shall have loved). 

3. He shall have loved. 3. They shall have loved. 

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I love. 1. If we love. 

2. If thou (or you) love. 2. If ye or you love. 

3. If he love. 3. If they love. 

Future Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I shall or will love. 1. If we shall or will love. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt love. 2. If ye shall or will love. 
(If you shall or will love.) If you shall or will love, 

3. If he shall or will love. 3. If they shall or will love., 



342 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Future Perfect Tense. 

' Singular. Plural. 

1. If I shall or will have loved. 1. If we shall or will have loved. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt have loved. 2. If ye shall or will have loved. 
(If you shall or will have loved.) If you shall or will have loved. 

3. If he shall or will have loved. 3. Ifthey shall or will have loved. 

POTENTIAL MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may, can, or must love. 1. We may, can, or must love. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must love. 2. Ye may, can, or must love. 
(You may, can, or must love.) You may, can, or must love. 

3. He may, can, or must love. 3. They may, can, or must love. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should love. 1. We might, could, would, or should love. 

2. Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should love. 

shouldst love. 
(You might, could, would, or should love.) You might, could, would, or should love. 

3. He might, could, would, or should love. 3. They might, could, would, or should love. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1 % I may, can, or must have loved. 1. We may, can, or must have loved. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must have loved. 2. Ye may, can, or must have loved. 
(You may, can, or must have loved.) You may, can, or must have loved. 

3. He may, can, or must have loved. 3. They may, can, or must have loved. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should have 1. We might, could, would, or should have 

loved. loved. 

2. Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should have 

shouldst have loved. loved. 

(You might, could, would, or should You might, could, would, or should have 

have loved.) loved. 

3. He might, could, would, or should have 3. They might, could, would, or should 

loved. have loved. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 

Present, To love. Present Perfect, To have loved. 



MPERATIVE MOD 

Present Tense. 

Love ye. 
Love you. 
3. Let him love. 3. Let them love. 



Sing., 2. Love, or < ou " Plur., 2. Love, or < 

I Love you. ( 



PARTICIPLES. 



r, _ T i Past or Perfect, Loved. 

Present, Loving. < „ _ -L ' TT . . , 

I Compound Perfect, Having loved. 



THE VERB. 343 



PASSIVE VOICE. 

INDICATIVE MODE, 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I am loved. 1. We are loved. 

2. Thou art loved (you are loved). 2. Ye or you are loved. 

3. He is loved. 3. They are loved. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I was loved. 1. "We were loved. 

2. Thou wast loved (you were 2. Ye or you were loved. 

loved). 

3. He was loved. 3. They were loved. 

Future Tense [Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall be loved. 1. We shall be loved. 

2. Thou wilt be loved (you will be 2. Ye or you will be loved. 

loved). 

3. He will be loved. 3. They will be loved. 

Future Tense {Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will be loved. 1. We will be loved. 

2. Thou shalt be loved (you shall 2. Ye or you shall be loved. 

be loved). 

3. He shall be loved. 3. They shall be loved. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have been loved. 1. We have been loved. 

2. Thou hast been loved (you have 2. Ye or you have been loved, 

been loved). 

3. He has been loved. 3. They have been loved. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had been loved. 1. We had been loved. 

2. Thou hadst been loved (you had 2. Ye or you had been loved. 

been loved). 

3. He had been loved. 3. They had been loved. 

Future Perfect Tense [Predictive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have been loved. 1. We shall have been loved. 

2. Thou wilt have been loved (you 2. Ye or you will have been 

will have been loved). loved. 

3. He will have been loved. 3. They will have been loved. 



344 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Future Perfect Tense {Promissive). 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I will have been loved. 1. We will have been loved. 

2. Thou shalt have been loved 2. Ye or you shall have been 

(you shall have been loved). loved. 

3. He shall have been loved. 3. They shall have been loved. 

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I be loved. 1. If we be loved. 

2. If thou be loved. 2. If ye be loved. 
(If you be loved.) If you be loved. 

3. If he be loved. 3. If they be loved. 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I were loved. 1. If we were loved. 

2. If thou wert loved. 2. If ye were loved. 
(If you were loved.) If you were loved. 

3. If he were loved. 3. If they were loved. 

Future Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I shall or will be loved. 1. If we shall or will be loved. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt be loved. 2. If ye shall or will be loved. 
(If you shall or will be loved.) If you shall or will be loved. 

3. If he shall or will be loved. 3. If they shall or will be loved- 

Future Perfect Tense, 

Singular. Plural. 

\. If I shall or will have been 1. If we shall or will have been 
loved. loved. 

2. If thou shalt or wilt have been 2. If ye shall or will have been 

loved. loved. 

(If you shall or will have been If you shall or will have been 

loved.) loved. 

3. If he shall or will have been 3. If they shall or will have been 

loved. loved. 

The other tenses of the subjunctive are the same in form as 
those of the indicative. 

POTENTIAL MODE. 

Present Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may, can, or must be loved. 1. We may, can, or must be loved. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must be loved. 2. Ye may, can, or must be loved. 
(You may, can, or must be loved.) You may, can, or must be loved. 

3. He may, can, or must be loved. 3. They may, can, or must be loved. 



THE VERB. 345 

Past Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should be 1. We might, could, would, or should be 

loved. loved. 

2. Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should be 

shouldst be loved. loved. 

(You might, could, would, or should be You might, could, would, or should be 

loved.) loved. 

3. He might, could, would, or should be 3. They might, could, would, or should be 

loved. loved. 

Present Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may, can, or must have been loved. 1. We may, can, or must have been loved. 

2. Thou mayest, canst, or must have been 2. Ye may, can, or must have been loved. 

loved. 
(You may, can, or must have been loved.) You may, can, or must have been loved. 

3. They may, can, or must have been loved. 3. They may, can, or must have been loved. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I might, could, would, or should have 1. We might, could, would, or should have 

been loved. been loved. 

2. Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or 2. Ye might, could, would, or should have 

shouldst have been loved. been loved. 

(You might, could, would, or should You might, could, would, or should have 

have been loved.) been loved. 

3. He might, could, would, or should have 3. They might, could, would, or should have 

been loved. been loved. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 

Present, To be loved. Present Perfect, To have been loved. 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

Present Tense. 
Sing., 2. Be ( Be thou loved. Plur., 2. Be ( Be ye loved. 

loved, or \ Be you loved. loved, or \ Be you loved 

3. Let him be loved. 3. Let them be loved 

PARTICIPLES. 

Present, Being loved. \ Past or P * r f ect > Lo y ed - , 

( Compound Perfect, Having been loved, 

IRREGULAR VERBS. 

§ 356. According to the common definition, an Irregular 
Verb is a verb which does not form the preterit and perfect part- 
iciple by the addition of d or ed. 

The number of irregular verbs depends on the rule adopted 
for the formation of regular verbs. The more exclusive the rule, 
the more numerous will be the irregularities. The more gen- 
eral the rule, the fewer will be the irregularities. All the strong 



346 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



verbs are included in this definition, though they are, in fact, 
many of them regular. 



A LIST of v 
Present. 

Abide, 

Am or be, 

Awake, 

Bake, 

Bear,ybr-, 

Bear (produce), 

Beat, 

Begin, 

Behold, 

Bend, 

Bereave, 

Beseech, 

Bet, 

Bid, for-, 

Bind, un- y re-, 

Bite, 

Bleed, 

Blend, 

Bless, 

Blow, 

Break, 

Breed, 

Bring, 

Build, 

Burn, 

Burst, 

Buy, 

Cast, 

Catch, 

Chide, 

Choose, 



ERBS COM 
Preterit. 

(First Form.) 

abode, 

was, 

awoke, 

baked, 

bore, 

bore, 

beat, 

began, 

beheld, 

bent, 

bereft, 

besought, 

bet, 

bade, 

*band, 

•bat, 

bled, 

blent, 

blest, 

blew, 

broke, 

bred, 

brought, 

built, 

burnt, 

*brast, 

bought, 

cast, 

caught, 

*chode, 

chose, 



MONLY CALLED IRR 
Preterit. 

(Second Form.) 

abided, 



awaked, 

# bare, 
*bare, 

begun, 

bended, 

bereaved, 

beseeched, 

betted, 

bid, 

bound, 

bit, 



blended, 
blessed, 



^brak( 



builded, 
burned, 
burst, 



*catched, 
chid, 

clav( 



Cleave (to split), clove, \ ' > 

i. cleft, ) 



Cleave, 
Climb, 
Cling, 
Clothe, 



*clave, 
*clomb, 
*clang, 
clad, 



cleaved, 
climbed, 
clung, 
clothed, 



Participle. 

(First Form.) 

abode, 
been, 

baken, 

borne, 

born, 

beaten, 

begun, 

*beholden, 

bent, 

bereft, 

besought, 

bet, 

bidden, 

*bounden, 

bitten, 

bled, 

blent, 

blest, 

blown, 

broken, 

bred, 

brought, 

built, 

burnt, 

*bursten, 

*boughten, 

cast, 

caught, 

chidden, 

chosen, 

cloven, 



EGUL AR. 

Participle. 

(Second Form.) 

abided. 



awaked, 
baked. 



beat. 

beheld. 

bended. 

bereaved. 

beseeched. 

betted. 

bid. 

bound. 

bit. 



clung 
clad, 



blended, 
blessed. 

broke. 



builded. 
burned, 
burst, 
bought. 

*catched. 
chid. 

cleft. 

cleaved, 
climbed. 

clothed. 



THE VERB. 



347 



Present. 

Come, be-, over-, 

Cost, 

Creep, 

Crow, 

Cut, 

Dare (venture), 

Deal, 

Delve, 

F>ig, 

Dive, 

Do this, un-, over-, 

Draw, 

Dream, 

Dress, 

Drink, 

Drive, 

Dwell, 

Eat, 

Engrave, 

Fall, be-, 

Peed, 

Feel, 

Fight, 

Find, 

Flee, 

Fling, 

Fly, 

Fold, 

Forget, 

Forsake, 

Freeze, 

Freight, 

Get, be-, for-, 

Gild, 

Gird, be-, en-, un-, 

Glide, 

Give, for-, mis-, 

Go, fore-, under-, 

Grave, 

Grind, 

Grow, 



Preterit. 

(First Form.) 

come, 

cost, 

*crope, 

crew, 

cut, 

durst, 

dealt, 

*dolve, 

dug, 

dove, 

did, 

drew, 

dreamt, 

drest, 

drank, 

drove, 

dwelt, 

ate, 

fell, 

fed, 

felt, 

fought, 

*fand, 

fled, 

*flang, 

flew, 

forgot, 

forsook, 

froze, 

got, 

gilt, 

girt, 

*glode, 

gave, 

went, 

*grove, 

*grand, 

grew, 



Preterit. 

(Second Form.) 



crept, 
crowed, 

dared, 

dealed, 

delved, 

digged, 

dived, 



dreamed, 

dressed, 

drunk, 

*drave, 

dwelled, 

*eat, 

engraved, 



found, 

flung, 

folded, 
*forgat, 



freighted, 

*gat, 

gilded, 

girded, 

glided, 



Participle. 

(First Form.) 

come, 
cost, 



*crown, 
cut, 

dealt, 

*dolven, 

dug, 

done, 

drawn, 

dreamt, 

drest, 

drunken, 

driven, 

dwelt, 

eaten, 

engraven, 

fallen, 

fed, 

felt, 

*foughten, 

found, 

fled, 

flung, 

flown, 

*folden, 

forgotten, 

forsaken, 

frozen, 

fraught, 

gotten, 

gilt, 

girt, 



Participle. 

(Second Fonn.) 



crept, 
crowed. 

dared. 

dealed. 

delved. 

digged. 

dived. 



dreamed. 

dressed. 

drunk. 

dwelled. 

eat. 

engraved. 



graved, 
ground, 



given, 

gone, 

graven, 

ground, 

grown, 



fought. 



folded, 
forgot. 



freighted. 

got. 

gilded. 

girded. 

glided. 



graved. 



348 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



Present. 

Hang, 

Have, 

Hear, over-, 

Heave, 

Help, 

Hew, 

Hide, 

Hit, 

Hold, be-, up-, with- 

Hurt, 

Keep, 

Kneel, 

Knit, 

Know, fore-, 

Lade (to load), 

Lay, in-, 

Lead, mis-, 

Leap, 

Learn, 

Leave, 

Lend, 

Let, 

Lie (to recline), 

Lift, 

Light, 

Load, un-, over-, 

Lose, 

Make, 

Mean, 

Meet, 

Melt, 

Mow, 

Pay, re-, 

Pen (to inclose), 

Prove, 

Put, 

Quit, 

Read, 

Rend, 

Rid, 

Ride, 



Preterit. 

(First Form.) 

hung, 

had, 

heard, 

hove, 

*holp, 

hid, 
hit, 
, held, 
hurt, 
kept, 
knelt, 
knit, 
knew, 

laid, 

led, 

leapt, 

learnt, 

left, 

lent, 

let, 

lay, 

lift, 

lit, 

lost, 

made, 

meant, 

met, 

*molt, 

paid, 

pent, 

proved, 

put, 

quit, 

read, 

rent, 

rid, 

rode, 



Preterit. 

(Second Form.) 

hanged, 



heaved, 
helped, 
hewed, 



kneeled, 
knitted, 

laded, 



leaped, 
learned, 



lifted, 

lighted, 

loaded, 



*meaned, 

melted, 
mowed, 

penned, 



quitted, 
*redde, 



^rid, 



Participle. 

(First Form.) 

hung, 

had, 

heard, 

*hoven, 

*holpen, 

hewn, 

hidden, 

hit, 

holden, 

hurt, 

kept, 

knelt, 

knit, 

known, 

laden, 

laid, 

led, 

leapt, 

learnt, 

left, 

lent, 

let, 

lain, 

lift, 

lit, 

*loaden, 

lost, 

made, 

meant, 

met, 

*molten, 

mown, 

paid, 

pent, 

proven, 

put, 

quit, 

read, 

rent, 

rid, 

ridden, 



Participle. 

(Second Form.) 

hanged. 



heaved, 
helped, 
hewed, 
hid. 



held. 



kneeled, 
knitted. 



leaped, 
learned 



lien, 
lifted, 
lighted, 
loaded. 



meaned- 

melted, 
mowed. 

penned, 
proved. 

quitted. 



rode, *rid- 



THE VERB. 



349 



Present. 

Ring, 

Rise, a-, 

Rive, 

Run, out-, 

Saw, 

Say, un-, gain-, 

See, /ore-, 

Seek, 

Seethe, 

Sell, 

Send, 

Set, be-, 

Shake, 

Shape, 

Shave, 

Shear, 

Shed, 

Shew, 

Shine, 

Shoe, 

Shoot, over-, 

Show, 

Shred, 

Shrink, 

Shut, 

Sing, 

Sink, 

Sit, 

Slay, 

Sleep, 

Slide, 

Sling, 

Slink, 

Slit, 

Smell, 

Smite, 

Sow, 

Speak, be-, 

Speed, 

Spell, mis-, 

Spend, mis-, 



Preterit. 

(First Form.) 

rang, 
rose, 



ran, 

said, 

saw, 

sought, 

sod, 

sold, 

sent, 

set, 

shook, 

*shope, 

*shore, 
shed, 

shone, 

shod, 

shot, 

shred, 
shrank, 

shut, 

sang, 

sank, 

sate, 

slew, 

slept, 

*slode, 

# slang, 

*slank, 

slit, 

smelt, 

smote. 



Preterit. 

(Second Form.) 

rung, 

*ris, 

rived, 

run, 

sawed, 



seethed, 



shaped, 
shaved, 
sheared, 



sped, 
spelt, 
spent, 



shewed, 
shined, 



showed, 

shrunk, 

sung, 
sunk, 
sat, 



slid, 

slung, 

slunk, 

slitted, 

smelled, 

*smit, 

sowed, 

*spake, 

speeded, 

spelled, 



Participle. 

(First Form.) 

rung, 

risen, 

riven, 

run, 

sawn, 

said, 

seen, 

sought, 

sodden, 

sold, 

sent, 

set, 

shaken, 

shapen, 

shaven, 

shorn, 

shed, 

shewn, 

shone, 

shod, 

shot, 

shown, 

shred, 

shrunken, 

shut, 

*sungen, 

sunken, 

*sitten, 

slain, 

slept, 

slidden, 

slung, 

slunk, 

slit, 

smelt, 

smitten, 

sown, 

spoken, 

sped, 

spelt, 

spent, 



Participle. 

(Second Form.) 



sawed. 



seethed. 



shaked. 



shaved, 
sheared. 



shined. 



shrunk. 

sung, 
sunk, 
sat. 

slid. 



slitted. 

smelled. 

*smit. 

sowed. 

spoke. 

speeded. 

spelled. 



350 



ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



Present. 

Spill, mis-, 

Spin, 

Spit, 

Split, 

Spoil, 

Spread, 

Spring, 

Stand, under-, with-, 

Stave, 

Steal, 

Stick, 

Sting, 

Stink, 

Strew, 

Stride, be-, 

Strike, 

String, 
Strive, 
Strow, 
Swear, for-, 

Sweat, 

Swell, 
Swim, 
Swing, 
Swink, 

Take, be-, under-, > 
over-, re-, mis-, S 
Teach, mis-, un-, 
Tear, 

Tell, fore-, 
Think, be-, 
Thrive, 
Throw, over-, 
Thrust, 
Tread, re-, 
Wax, 
Wear, 
Weave, un-, 
Wed, 



Preterit. ( 

(First Form.) 

spilt, 

*span, 

*spat, 

split, 

spoilt, 

spread, 

sprang, 

stood, 

stove, 

stole, 

stuck, 

*stang, 

*stank, 

strode, 

*strake, 

*strook, 

*strang, 

strove, 

swore, 
*swet, 

*swoll, 
swam, 
*swang, 
*swank, 



took, 

taught, 

tore, 

told, 

thought, 

throve, 

threw, 

thrust, 

trod, 

wore, 
wove, 
wed, 



Preterit. 

(Second Form.) 

spilled, 

spun, 

spit, 

splitted, 

spoiled, 

sprung, 

staved, 
*stale, 

stung, 
stunk, 
strewed, 
*strid, 

struck, 
strung, 

strowed, 

*sware, 

sweat, 

*sweated, 

swelled, 

swum. 



swung, 
*swunk, 



*tare, 

thrived, 

*trad, 

waxed, 

*ware, 

wedded, 



Participle. 

(First Form.) 

spilt, 

spun, 

*spitten, 

split, 

spoilt, 

spread, 

sprung, 

stood, 

stove, 

stolen, 

stuck, 

stung, 

stunk, 

strown, 

stridden, 



i sweat, } 
( *sweated, S 



Participle. 

(Second Form.) 

spilled. 

spit. 

splitted. 

spoiled. 



staved. 



strewn, 
strid. 



stricken, struck. 



strowed. 

sweat, 
sweated, 
swelled, 
swum. 



strung, 
striven, 
strown, 
sworn, 

sweaten. 
swollen, 

swang, 

*swinken, *swunk, 

taken, 

taught, 

torn, 

told, 

*thoughten, thought, 
thriven, thrived. 

thrown, 

thrust, 
trodden, 
•waxen, 
worn, 
woven, 
wed, 



trod, 
waxed. 



wedded. 



THE VERB. 



351 



Present. 

"Weep, 

Wend, 

Wet, 

Whet, 

Win, 

Wind, un- t 

Work, 
Wreathe, 
Wring, 
Write, 



Preterit. 

(First Form.) 

wept, 

went, 

wet, 

whet, 

*wan, 
5 *wand, > 
( wound, > 

wrought, 



wrung, 
wrote, 



Preterit. 

(Second Form.) 



wetted, 

whetted, 

won, 

winded, 

worked, 
wreathed, 
wringed, 
^writ, 



Participle. 

(First Form.) 

wept, 

wet, 

whet, 

won, 

wound, 



Participle. 

(Second Form.) 

wended. 

wetted. 

whetted. 



winded. 



wrought, worked, 

wreathen, wreathed, 

wrung, wringed. 

written, =*writ. 



DERIVED VERBS. 

§ 357. Four classes of Derived Yerbs, as opposed to Primi- 
tive, deserve notice. 

I. Those ending in -en ; as, soften, whiten, strengthen. The 
-en is a derivational affix, and not a representative of the Anglo- 
Saxon infinitive form -an (as, lufian — to love) ; or the Old En- 
glish -en (as, tellen, loven). 

II. Transitive verbs, derived from intransitives by a change 
of the vowel of the root. 



Primitive Intransitive Form. 

Rise, 

Lie, 

Sit, 

Fall, 

Drink, 
• In Anglo-Saxon these words 
are at present in English. 

Intrans. Infinitive. 

Yrnan, to run, 
Byrnan, to burn, 
Drincan, to drink, 
Sincan, to sink, 
Licgan, to lie, 
Sittan, to sit, 
Drifan, to drift, 
Feallan, to fall, 
Weallan, to boil, 
Fleogan, to fly, 



Derived Transitive Form. 

raise. 

lay. 

set. 

fell. 

drench. 

were more numerous than they 

Trans. Infinitive. 

sernan, to make to run. 
bsernan, to make to burn. 
drencan, to drench. 
sencan, to make to sink. 
lecgan, to lay. 
settan, to set. 
drefan, to drive. 
fyllan, to fell. 
wyllan, to make to boil. 
a-nigan, to put to flight. 



352 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Intrans. Infinitive. Trans. Infinitive. 

Beogan, to bow, bigan, to bend. 

Faran, to go, feran, to convey. 

Wacan, to wake, weccan, to awaken. 

All these intransitives form their preterits by a change of 
vowel ; as, sink, sank ; all the transitives by the addition of d 
or t ; as, fell, felPd. 

III. Verbs derived from nouns by a change of accent ; as, to 
survey', from a sur'vey. Walker attributes the change of ac- 
cent to the influence of the participial termination -ing. 

IV. Verbs formed from nouns by changing a final surd conso- 
nant into its corresponding sonant ; as, use, to use, pronounced 
uze ; breath, to breathe, pronounced breadhe ; half, to halve; 
grass, to graze. See Latham's English Language, p. 292. 

REFLECTIVE VERBS. 

§ 358. Reflective Verbs are those which are followed by 
reflective pronouns. In English, such verbs are less strongly 
marked than in some other languages, as, for example, in Grer- 
man and French ; yet they exhibit several peculiarities worthy 
of notice. Their true nature and character will be best seen by 
reducing to distinct classes all the verbs which might be called 
by this name. 

I. Those formed from transitive verbs, remaining transitive, 
in which the agent truly and properly acts upon himself; as, to 
examine one's self, 1 Cor. 11 : 28 ; to honor one's self, John 
8 : 54 ; to purify one's self, 1 John 3:3; to kill one's self ; to 
praise one's self ; &c. 

These verbs are reflective both in sense and form. They 
have the emphasis or stress on the reflective pronoun. They 
are proper middle verbs, or verbs intermediate between the act- 
ive and passive voices. If this had been the only class of re- 
flective verbs, they would have needed but little notice in our 
grammars. 

II. Those formed from transitive verbs, remaining transitive 
in form but not in sense, in which the agent does not truly and 
properly act upon himself ; as, to boast one's self, Ps. 52 : 1 ; 
2 Cor. 11 : 16 ; to delight one's self, Ps. 37 : 4, 11 ; to exercise 
one's self Acts 24 : 16 ; to forswear one's self Matt. 5 : 33 j to 



THE VERB. 353 

fret one's self, Ps. 37 : 1, 7, 8 ; to repent one's self Ps. 135 : 
14 ; to possess one's self &c. 

i So far as the sense is concerned, these verbs are neuter or in- 
transitive. It is merely a mode of forming intransitive verbs 
out of transitive. The reflective pronoun is without emphasis. 
In many verbs of this class, especially in German and French, 
the indirect or remote object seems to act on the agent or sub- 
ject ; as, G-erman, sick erinnern, to recollect ; sich freuen, to 
rejoice ; French, se repentir, to repent ; se plaindre, to lament ; 
English, to repent one s self ; to fret one's self 

III. Yerbs like those of the first and second classes, which are 
no longer useu. in their ordinary transitive meaning ; as, to be- 
have one's self 1 Cor. 13 : 5 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 15 (compare Old En- 
glish behave, to restrain) ; to bestir one's self 2 Sam. 5 : 24 
(compare Old English bestir, to move) ; to betake one's self, Is. 
14 : 32, marginal reading (compare Old English betake, to de- 
liver) ; to bethink one's self, 1 Kings 8 : 47 ; 2 Chron. 6 : 37 
(con pare Anglo-Saxon bethencan, to consider) ; to ivallow one's 
self, Jer. 6 : 26 (compare Old English ivallow, to roll) ; to vaunt 
one's self, Judges 7 : 2 ; 1 Cor. 13 : 4 (compare French vanter, 
to praise). 

These constitute the reflective verbs in English, technically so 
called by grammarians, as they are now used only with the re- 
flective pronoun. The reflective pronoun is of course without 
emphasis. 

Note. — Many verbs of the second and third classes now omit, 
especially in colloquial language, the reflective pronoun ; as, to 
behave, see Webster ; to bethink, see Webster ; to boast, see 
2 Cor. 7 : 14 ; Eph. 2:9; to delight, see Mic. 7:18; Mai. 2 : 
17 ; Rom. 7 : 22 ; to fret, see Prov. 19 : 3 ; to repent, see Num. 
23 : 19 ; Matt. 3:2; to ivallow, see Jer. 48 : 26 ; Mark 9 : 20 ; 
to vaunt, see Webster. So to conduct is sometimes improper- 
ly used for to conduct one's self In this way verbs now intran- 
sitive sometimes have the appearance of being used reflectively. 
This, however, is not the case. 

IV. Many verbs are construed with a reflective pronoun of 
the indirect or remote object ; as, to imagine to one's self 

These are a distinct class from all the rest, and require no 
special notice. 

Z 



354 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Y. Many reflective verbs are construed with a second accusa- 
tive of the factitive relation ; as, to think one's self 'worthy ', i.e., 
to think that one's self is worthy, Luke 7:7; to feign one's 
self a just man, Luke 20 : 20. 

So to drink one's self drunk, 1 Kings 20 : 16 ; to laugh one's 
self hoarse ; to walk one's self tired. This is a common Teu- 
tonic idiom ; compare Grerman schlafen sich dumm, literally to 
sleep one's self stupid. 

VI. Sometimes the reflective pronoun has the form of the sim- 
ple pronoun, as in French ; as, to flee one away, Am. 7 : 12 (com- 
pare French s'enfuir) ; to get one, Num. 22 : 34 ; Matt. 4 : 10 
(compare French s'en oiler) ; to sit one down, Gren. 21 : 16 
(compare French s'asseoir). 

These are mere Grallicisms, and, as such, have been reproba- 
ted by grammarians. 

IMPERSONAL VERBS. 

§ 359. The different classes of verbs in English, which have 
sometimes been called Impersonal, are as follows : 

I. Where, as in describing the operations of nature and the 
state of the weather, no logical subject is conceived of or ex- 
pressed, but the mere event is affirmed without any reference 
to the agency by which it is effected ; as, it thunders ; it rains ; 
it is warm. The pronoun it is here merely the grammatical 
subject. These are proper impersonal verbs. 

II. Where a logical subject must be conceived of, but either 
is not expressed, or is expressed grammatically in an oblique 
case ; as, it strikes four ; it repented the Lord because of their 
groanings ; let it not be grievous in thy sight concerning the 
lad ; it is over with them. These also are proper impersonal 
verbs. 

III. Where the logical subject is not a substantive, but mere- 
ly a clause or part of a sentence ; as, it came to pass that God 
did tempt Abraham. These propositions have a subject, but it 
is not a person. These are improper impersonal verbs. 

IV. Where the logical subject is indefinite, or refers to no par- 
ticular person ; as, they say, that is, it is said, or somebody says. 
These have no claim to be regarded as impersonal verbs. 

Note. — There are some impersonal verbs in English which are 



THE VERB. 355 

used, or have been used, in certain situations, without the pro- 
noun it. It may be important to notice this peculiarity, as our 
common grammars are silent on the subject. 

(1.) Me seemeth or meseems, past meseemed, it seems to me, 
Latin mihi videtur ; as, 

"Me seemeth good, that with some little traine 
Forthwith from Ludlow the young prince be fetched 
Hither to London, to be crown'd our king." — Shakspeare. 

The verb to seem is intransitive ; consequently, the pronoun 
me has here the power of a dative case, as it has in Anglo- Saxon„ 

(2.) Me thinketh or methinks, liym thinketh, past methought, 
it seems to me ; as, 

" With suche gladnes I daunce and skip, 
Me thinketh 1 touche not the floore." — Gower. 

" Some such resemblances methinks I find 
Of our last evening's talk, in this thy dream, 
But with addition strange ; yet be not sad." — Milton. 

" So that hym thinketh of a daie 
A thousande yere till he maie se 
The visage of Penelope 
Whiche he desireth moste of all." — Gower. 

" One came, methought, and whispered in my ear." — Pope. 

The verb to think, to seem, Gothic thugkjan, Old Saxon 
thunkian, Anglo-Saxon thincan, Old German dunkjan, Ger- 
man dunken, is to be carefully distinguished from to think, to 
imagine, Gothic thagkjan, Old Saxon thenkian, Anglo-Saxon 
thencan, Old German denkjan, German denken. 

The verb to think here is intransitive ; consequently, the pro- 
nouns me and hym have the power of the dative case. Com- 
pare Anglo-Saxon methinceth or me thincth, him thincth, past 
me gethuhte, where the pronoun is in the dative case ; Old En- 
glish me-thuncketh ; German mich or mir dunket ; Swedish 
metyckas ; Danish metykkes. 

(3.) Me listeth or me lists; past me listed, him list, it 
pleases me ; as, 

" To whatsoever land 
By sliding seas me listed them to lede." — Surrey : Virgile. 

" To the holy land him list.' 1 '' — R. Brunne. 
The verb to list is a transitive verb ; consequently, the pro- 



356 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

noun me or Jiim is in the accusative. Compare Anglo-Saxon 
me lyste, it pleases me, June lyste, it pleases him, where the 
pronouns me and June are in the accusative. 

DEFECTIVE VERBS. 

§ 360. A Defective Yerb is one which wants some of the 
principal parts, as in the following list : 

Present. Preterit. Past Participle. 

Can, could, 

May, might, ■ . 

Must, must, 

Ought, ought, 

Shall, should, 

Will, would, ■ 

Quoth, quoth, 

Wis, wist, 

Wit or wot, wot, 



B 



eware, 



yode, 

Could is irregular, for the I is not a part of the original word. 
Anglo-Saxon, Present, Ic can ; Preterit, Ic cu%e ; Past participle, CwS. 
The I is accounted for by a process of imitation. In would and should 
I has a proper place. It is a part of the original words will and shall. 
A false analogy looked upon could in the same light. As the I is not 
pronounced, it is an irregularity, not of language, hut of orthography. 

May, shall, will. See § 343. 

Must is never varied in termination. 

Ought is varied in the second person singular ; thou oughtest. 

Beware is used only in the imperative and infinitive modes. 

GIuoth is used chiefly in the first and third persons singular of 
the present and preterit tenses. It has the peculiarity of preceding 
its pronoun. Instead of saying / quoth, he quoth, we say quoth I, 
quoth he. In the Anglo-Saxon it was not defective. It was found 
in the other tenses. Present, Ic cwe$e, pu cwyst, he cwy$ ; Preterit, 
CWS. In the Scandinavian it is current in all its forms. There, 
however, it means, not to speak, but to sing. It belonged to the 
strong conjugation, and formed its preterit by a change of vowel. 

Wis is obsolete ; wist is not much used. It is, in its present 
form, a regular preterit from wis = know. 

Wit, Anglo-Saxon witan, to know, is confined to the phrase in the 
infinitive, to witz=namely, Latin videlicet. Wit appears to be the 
root ; wot, a strong preterit. 

Hark is used only in the imperative mode. 



THE VERB. 357 

Am, be, was, are strictly defective verbs, though usually classed 
as irregular ; just as good, better, best, furnish instances of defective- 
ness in comparison, though commonly considered as furnishing an 
instance of irregular comparison. 

Do. In the phrase this will do=this will answer the purpose, the 
word do is wholly different from the word do, meaning to act. In 
the first case, it is equivalent to the Latin valere ; in the second, to 
the Latin facere. Of the first, the Anglo-Saxon inflection is deah, 
dugon, dohte ; of the second, it is do, d6$h, dyde. — Latham, p. 332- 

Yode, the obsolete preterit of go, now replaced by went, the pret- 
erit of wend. The initial g has become y. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER VI. 

1. Give the definition of a substantive verb, and of a common or adjectivfe 
verb, and also the general definition of a verb. 

2. What are Becker's views of the nature of a verb ? 

3. Give the classifications of verbs. 

4. When are verbs called transitive verbs, and in what two forms do they 
express assertion ? 

5. What is the meaning of the word transitive, and what is said of the act- 
ive and the passive form in this connection ? 

6. What is said of the object of a transitive verb ? 

7. When are verbs called intransitive verbs ? 

8. What is the meaning of intransitive ? 

9. Can intransitive verbs be regularly used in the passive form? 

10. Give an instance of a verb being used sometimes in the transitive and 
sometimes in the intransitive form. 

11. What does an intransitive verb express? 

12. What are the attributes of verbs ? 

13. How many persons are there in verbs? 

14. What is the amount of inflection in English compared with some othej 
languages, and what is said of these inflections of the verbs ? 

15. How many numbers are there in verbs, and with what do they corre- 
spond, and what sign or signs are there of number? 

TENSE OF THE VERB. 

16. What is tense ? How many, and what tenses are there ? 

17. What does present tense, denote, and what are the three forms ? 

18. Is present tense ever used for the past and the future ? Give examples., 

19. What does past tense denote, and what are the three forms ? 

20. What does future tense denote, and what are its three forms ? 

21. What does the present future tense denote, and what are its two forms ?- 

22. What does the past perfect denote, and what are its two forms ? 

23. What does the future perfect denote, and what are its two forms? 
What is said of strike and struck f 



358 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

MODES OF THE VERB. 

24. What does mode denote ? 

25. What does the indicative mode denote ? Give an example. What is 
it used for ? 

26. What does the subjunctive mode express ? Give an example. What 
is it used for ? 

27. What does the potential mode express ? Give an example. What is 
it used for ? 

28. What does the imperative mode express ? Give an example. What 
is it used for ? 

29. What is the infinitive mode ? Give an example. What is it used for ? 

30. Mention the characteristics of the modes. 

31. What is said of the ancient inflection of the infinitive, and under what 
two forms do English infinitives exist 1 

32. What is said of the number of the modes ? 

33. What is a participle? How many participles are there? What are 
they called ? What are their forms ? 

34. What is said of the present participle 1 ? What were the Anglo-Saxon 
forms ? What other parts of speech may it become ? What is the proposal 
of Whateley and Kuhner in regard to its classification? 

35. What is said of the past participle as to termination? Does the per- 
fect participle ever lose its verbal character ? What does it become ? Give 
an instance. What is said of the prefix yf 

CONJUGATION. 

36. What is said of conjugation? 

37. What is said of auxiliary verbs, and into what two classes are they 
divided ? 

38. What is said of the derivation of have ? of be, am, was ? of shall ? 

Of WILL ? Of MAY ? Of CAN ? of MUST ? of LET ? of DO ? 

39. What is said of the classification of auxiliary verbs in respect to their 
mode of construction ? 

40. Conjugate the auxiliary verbs may, can, shall, will, must, do, have. 
What are did, hast, hath, has, had, shalt, wilt, contractions of? 

41. What is said of the substantive verb, and in what three ways is it used ? 
What is said of worth and of some other verbs? Conjugate the verb to be. 

42. What is said of the verbs of the ancient conjugation in respect to their 
past tense, and in respect to their passive participle ? Conjugate the verb to 
take. 

43. What is said of verbs of the weak conjugation in respect to their past 
tense, and in respect to their passive participle ? Conjugate the verb to love. 

44. What is the common definition of irregular verbs ? Does this definition 
include the verbs of the ancient conjugation? 

45. Mention the classes of the derived verbs, with examples. What are 
reflective verbs ? Give examples of the different classes. Mention examples 
of the different classes of impersonal verbs. What are defective verbs? 
Mention some or all of the defective verbs. 



ADVERBS. 359 



CHAPTER VII. 

ADVERBS. 

§ 361. An Adverb is a word which can not by itself form a 
constituent part of a simple proposition, but which can, in a 
complex proposition, combine with verbs, adjectives, and other 
adverbs, to modify their meaning; as, " He reads correctly ;" 
"he was exceedingly careful ;" " he does tolerably well." See 
§240. 

Or, an Adverb is a word which qualifies a verb, or adjective, 
or another adverb; as, "John struck Thomas rashly ;" "the 
sun shines brightly ;" " he is more prudent than his neighbor ;" 
"he is running very rapidly." 

The name of this part of speech indicates its character. It was 
added to the verb (Latin adverbium) to modify its signification ; hence 
the Greek writers denned it thus : ^7TLppr][id ean fispog Xoyov anXi- 
rov, em to prjfia rrjv dva<popav exov. " The adverb is an indeclin- 
able part of speech, having relation to the verb." 

The adverb belongs to the class of indeclinable words called Par- 
ticles. To this class also belong prepositions, conjunctions, inter- 
jections, and inseparable prefixes. But adverbs susceptible of com- 
parison are not properly particles. Though particles now appear 
only as helps to the principal words, the verb, the adjective, the 
substantive, and the pronoun, they were themselves originally nouns 
or verbs, pronouns or adjectives. Though acting a subordinate part 
in sentences, they still have a meaning. In their humble position 
among the principal words, they often seem to express an idea or an 
assertion within the idea or assertion expressed by those words. 
The same particle is sometimes, in different connections, an adverb, 
a conjunction, or a preposition. It should be added that most ad- 
verbs are relational words. 

" The adverb is added to a perfect sentence, converting it, if cate- 
gorical, from a pure into a modal one ; and by a perfect sentence I 
here mean one that either enunciates some truth, or expresses some 
passion with its object. Thus, even ' fly,' in the imperative mode, 
is a perfect sentence, for it implies an agent and an act. ' Fly 



360 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

quickly.' Here a perfect sentence is converted into a modal one by 
the addition of the adverb. A part of a perfect sentence is under- 
stood when the mind supplies what is necessary to complete the 
sentence, as in the lines of Sir Walter Scott : 

" ' On, Stanley ! on ! 
Were the last words of Marmion.' 

Here the adverb on manifestly refers to some verb understood, as 
'march,' 'rush.' " — Sir John Stoddart on the Philosophy of Lan- 
guage, p. 222. 

ORIGIN OF ADVERBS. 

§ 362. " Omnis pars orationis migrat in adverbium." "Every 
part of speech is capable of becoming an adverb." 

Thus the words much and very, scarce and stark, originally adjec- 
tives, become adverbs. 

The words adrift and atwist are adverbs derived from the parti- 
ciples of the verbs drifan, twisan. 

The words here, there, hence, whence, are adverbs derived from 
pronouns. 

The words once, twice, thrice, are adverbs derived from numerals. 

The words yet, ado, together, are adverbs which seem to be derived 
from the verbs get, do, and gather. 

The words while, to-morrow, yesterday, originally substantives, are 
used as adverbs. 

1. Adverbs ending in "ly." — Ly, Anglo-Saxon lie, was once an 
independent word, the Anglo-Saxon lie — like. Words of this term- 
ination were, in Anglo-Saxon, compound adjectives. So, in Old En- 
glish, we have the adjective eorthliche, earthly ; ferliche, strange. In 
modern English there are words such as godly, lonely, lovely. God- 
ly is equivalent to God-like. According to the present habit of the 
English language, an adjective is converted into an adverb by an- 
nexing ly ; as, bright, brightly. 

2. Adverbs with the Prefix "a." — 1. In some instances a stands 
in the place of the prepositions in or on ; as, alive, anciently writ- 
ten on lyve, i. e., in life, or in a living state. Aloud was anciently 
written on loud ; as, "On loud he speired what art thou ?" 2. It was 
formerly expressed by the preposition of; as, anew, anciently writ- 
ten of new, as we now say of late. 3. It is the article a; as, awhile, 
i. e., a time. 4. It is part of the pronominal adjective all ; as, alone, 
anciently written all one, i. e., absolutely one. 5. It is corrupted 
from the participial prefix ge or ye ; as, adrift. The prefix a belongs 
to many sea terms ; as, aboard, ashore, &c, and to many other an- 



ADVERBS. 



361 



cient and modern words; afire— in fire, on fire ; ablaze =zon blaze; 
asleep = in sleep. 

ADVERBIAL PRONOUNS, 

§ 363. Here, hence, hither, are in their origin related to the pro- 
noun he. There, thence, and thither are in their origin related to the 
or that, as are where, whence, whither, to who or what. Then, when, are 
also related to that and what. Why is related to who, as also is how. 
Than and thus are severally related to that and this. The words 
here, there, where, united with other words, form a variety of com- 
pound adverbs ; as, Hereafter, hereabout, hereat, hereby, herein, here' 
into, hereof, hereon, hereupon, hereto, hereunto, heretofore, herewith, there' 
of, whereupon, &c. 

The following distinction should be noticed concerning interroga- 
tives. If you ask who, which, what, how many, you inquire concern- 
ing some noun ; but if you ask where, whence, whither, when, how oft- 
en, you inquire concerning some verb. Hence the propriety of call- 
ing the class which relates to nouns Pronouns, and the class that re* 
lates to verbs Adverbs. 

ADVERBS FROM CONCRETE SUBSTANTIVES. 

§ 364. Adverbs formed from concrete substantives must be care- 
fully distinguished from the ordinary cases or uses of such substan- 
tives. 

Home, " to the house," an ancient accusative, to be distinguished 
from the ordinary accusative in " he loves his own homey 

Always, " at all times," the accusative of time ; compare the or- 
dinary accusative in " he tries all ways of doing mischief." 

Sometimes, " at some times," the accusative of time ; compare the 
ordinary accusative in " he remembered some times of great distress." 

Awhile, " a while," the accusative of time, compare the ordinary 
accusative in " he spent a long while." 

Needs, " from necessity," an ancient adverbial genitive from need. 

Noways, " in no manner," an ancient adverbial genitive from no 
way. 

Nightly, " by night," " every night," with adverbial suffix ly. 

Beside, "by side," i. e., moreover; compare " he sat by the side." 

Between, "by twain," i. e., in the intermediate space; compare 
"by twain he did fly." 

Away, " on way," i. e., at a distance ; compare " he stopped on 
the way." 



262 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



ADVERBS FROM CASES. 

§ 365. Seldom is the old dative of the adjective seld. 

Whilom is the dative of the substantive while. 

Else , unawares, eftsoons, by rights, are genitive forms of adjec- 
tives. 

Needs (as in needs must go) is the genitive case of a substantive. 

Once, twice, thrice, are the genitive forms of numerals. 

Little, less, well, are neuter accusatives of adjectives. 

Athwart is a neuter accusative. 

The neuter accusative is a common source of adverbs in all 
tongues. 

ADVERBS HAVING THE SAME FORM AS ADJECTIVES. 

^ 366. In Anglo-Saxon the adverb was usually formed from the 
adjective by the addition of e ; as, Geom and geornlic, earnest ; ge- 
orne and geornlice, earnestly : sweotol, manifest ; sweotole and sweo- 
tolice, manifestly : swidh and swidhlic, great ; swidhe and swidhlice, 
greatly. 

It is exactly by dropping this adverbial termination <?, especially 
where the connection in meaning of the adverb and of the adjective 
is not immediately obvious, that in English many adverbs are found 
agreeing in form with the adjectives from which they are derived ; 
as, 

1. Anglo-Saxon clan, adjective, and cl&ne, adverb. Whence En- 
glish clean, adjective and adverb. The use of the adverb clean, sig- 
nifying "entirely," is found in Josh. 3 : 17 ; Ps. 77 : 8, &c. Its 
connection with the adjective clean, signifying " pure," is not obvious 
at first view. This use of the adverb clean is now deemed inele- 
gant. The form cleanly is used for the adverb in the more obvious 
senses. 

2. Anglo-Saxon clcBnlic, adjective, and clcsnlice, adverb. Whence 
English cleanly, adjective and adverb. The form clcanlily is objec- 
tionable on euphonic grounds, and is never used. 

3. Anglo-Saxon fast and fastlic, adjective, undfaste auci&fastlice, 
adverb, German fest, adverb. Whence English fast, adjective and 
adverb. The form fastly is not used at all. 

4. Anglo-Saxon heag and healic, adjective, and heage and healice, 
adverb. Whence English high, adjective and adverb. The form 
high as an adverb is now nearly superseded by the form highly. 

5. Anglo-Saxon heard and heardlic, adjective, and hearde andhcard- 
licc, adverb. Whence English hard, adjective and adverb. The 



ADVERBS. 363 

forms hard and hardly are both used as adverbs, but with discrimin- 
ation. 

6. Anglo-Saxon hlud, adjective, and hlydde, adverb. Whence En- 
glish loud, adjective and adverb. The form loud, as an adverb, is 
found in Neh. 12 : 42 ; but both forms, loud and loudly, are now 
used. 

7. Anglo-Saxon lang or long, adjective, and lange or longe and long- 
lice, adverb. Whence English long, adjective and adverb. The 
form longly is not used at all. 

8. Anglo-Saxon l&t or lat, adjective, and late or late and Icetlice, 
adverb. Whence English late, adjective and adverb. The form 
lately is also used in the sense of recently. 

9. Anglo-Saxon riht and rihtlic, adjective, and rihte and rihtelice, 
adverb. Whence English right, adjective and adverb. The forms 
right and rightly are both used as adverbs, but with discrimination. 

10. Anglo-Saxon sar and sarlic, adjective, and sare and sarlice, 
adverb. Whence English sore, adjective and adverb. The forms 
sore and sorely are now both used as adverbs. 

11. Anglo-Saxon seft or soft and seftlic, adjective, and sefte or 
softe, adverb. Whence English soft, adjective and adverb. The 
form soft, as an adverb, is found in poetry, which often employs anti- 
quated forms ; as, " And soft unto himself he sayed." — Chaucer. 
"Soft sighed the flute." — Thomson. But this form, in prose, is en- 
tirely superseded by softly. 

12. Anglo-Saxon thic, adjective, and thicce and thiclice, adverb. 
Whence English thick, adjective and adverb. The forms thick and 
thickly are now both used as adverbs. 

13. Anglo-Saxon wid, adjective, and wide, adverb. Whence En- 
glish wide, adjective and adverb. The forms wide and widely are 
now both used as adverbs. 

14. Anglo-Saxon yfel and yfellic, adjective, and yfele, adverb. 
Whence English evil or ill, adjective and adverb. The form evilly 
or illy, which was used in one stage of the English language, is now 
obsolete. 

In the following example, the adverbial termination seems to be 
retained in pronunciation both in the adjective and in the adverb : 

15. Anglo-Saxon hrced and hrcedlic, adjective, hradhe and hroedlice, 
adverb. Whence English ready, adjective and adverb. The forms 
ready and readily are both used as adverbs, but with discrimination. 

That this mode of forming adverbs has extended itself to a few 
adjectives of French or Latin origin is not surprising; as, English 
clear, adjective and adverb (compare French clair, Latin clarus and 



364 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

dare) ; just, adjective and adverb (compare French juste, Latin Justus 
and juste). 

These comparisons, if rightly made, lead to the following conclu- 
sions, which throw light on some points still mooted by writers on 
English grammar 

1 . In examples like the following, certain forms, which some have 
claimed to be adjectives, are really adverbs, for they once had the 
termination peculiar to this class of words : 

" To stick fast in mire ;" compare Anglo-Saxon sticode feste, stuck 
fast, with the adverbial termination. 

" Correct thy heart, and all will go right ;" compare Anglo-Saxon 
rihte with the adverbial termination. 

" Favors came thick upon him ;" compare Anglo-Saxon feollon 
thicce, fell thick, with the adverbial termination. 

"Open thine hand wide;" compare Anglo-Saxon wide with the 
adverbial termination. 

2. This use of certain adjectives, without change of form, as ad- 
verbs, has descended to us fairly from our ancestors, and is not to 
be reprobated as an innovation in language. 

3. The apparent poetic use of adjectives for adverbs is to be ex- 
plained on the principle that the poets delight in antique forms. 
This use is often found in poetry, where it is obsolete in prose ; as, 

" Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring." — Pope. 

"Slow tolls the village clock." — Beattie. 

" And louder yet, and yet more dread, 
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead." — Scott. 

ADVERBIAL PHRASES. 

§ 367. The principal office of the adverb is to modify the mean- 
ing of adjectives and verbs, and its secondary office is to modify ad- 
verbs. The same offices are performed by certain phrases or com- 
binations of words ; as, " He struck at random." Here at random 
modifies the verb struck; "This happened many days afterward." 
Here many days modifies the adverb afterward, and afterward modi- 
fies the verb "happened." These adverbial phrases, inasmuch as 
they perform the office of single words, might be thrown into the 
form of single words, as has been done in such words as heretofore, 
howsoever. By an adverbial phrase, then, is meant any combination 
of words which in a complex sentence may stand for an adverb. 



ADVERBS. 365 



COMPARISON OF ADVERBS. 

§ 368. Certain adverbs are capable of taking an inflection, name- 
ly, that of the comparative and superlative degrees ; as, Well, bet- 
ter, best ; ill, worse, worst ; little, less, least ; much, more, most ; soon, 
sooner, soonest ; often, oftener, oftenest ; long, longer, longest. 

Adverbs ending in ly are compared by more and most ; as, 
Brightly, more brightly, most brightly. 

Other adverbs generally, in the meaning they express, have no 
degrees of intensity, and are therefore incapable of comparison. 

classification of adverbs. 

§ 369. Adverbs are usually divided into various classes, according 
to the nature of the modification which they denote ; as, Adverbs 
of Time, Place, Number, Degree, Manner. This division is logical 
rather than etymological. 

I. Adverbs of Time, or those which answer to the question When ? 
or How often ? 

1 . Of time present : Now, yet, to-day, presently, instantly. 

2. Of time past : Yesterday, already, lately, heretofore, hitherto, since, 
ago, erewhile, erst. 

3. Of time to come : Henceforth, hereafter, by-and-by, soon, ere- 



4. Of time relative : When, then, while, whilst, before, after, till, un- 
til, betimes, early, late. 

5. Of time absolute : Ever, always, aye, never. 

6. Of time repeated : Often, oft, sometimes, seldom, rarely. 

II. Adverbs of Place are those which answer to the questions 
Where ? Whither ? or Whence 1 These three words answer to the 
idea, 1. Of rest in a place ; 2. The idea of motion toward a place ; 
3. The idea of motion from a place. The manner in which different 
languages express these ideas may be seen in. the following table : 

Mceso-Gothic par, faj?, papro, There, thither, thence. 

Her, hip, hidro, Here, hither, hence. 

Old High-German . . . Huar, huanra, huanana, Where, whither, whence. 

Dar, dara, danana, There, thither, thence. 

Hear, hera, hinana, Here, hither, hence. 

Old Saxon Huar, huar, huanan, Where, whither, whence. 

Thar, thar, thanan, There, thither, thence. 

Her, her, henan, Here, hither, hence. 

Anglo-Saxon Hvar, hvider, hvonan, Where, whither 1 whence. 

par, jndar, ponan, There, thither, thence. 

Her, hider, henan, Here, hither, hence. 



366 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Old Norse Hvar, hvert, hvaSan, Where, whither, whence. 

Har, pa$ra, JmSan, There, thither, thence. 

Her, he-Sra, he-San, Here, hither, hence. 

Modern High-German . Wo, wohin, wannen, Where, whither, whence. 

Da, dar, dannen, There, thither, thence. 

Hier, her, hinnen, Here, hither, hence. 

Other Adverbs of Place are, Yonder, above, below, about, around, 
somewhere, anywhere, elsewhere, every where, nowhere, wherever, within, 
without, whereabout, hereabout, thereabout ; In, up, down, back, forth, in- 
ward, upward, downward, backward, forward ; Away, out. 

III. Adverbs of Number are those which answer to the question 
How often ? as, Once, twice, thrice, &c. Besides these, there are, 
Firstly, secondly, thirdly, fourthly, he. 

IV. Adverbs of Degree are those which answer to the question 
How much ? as, Much, little, too, very, right, infinitely, scarcely, hardly, 
merely, far, besides, chiefiy, only, mostly, quite, dear, stark, partly, al- 
most, altogether, all, clear, enough, so, as, even, how, however, howsoever, 
ever so, something, nothing, any thing, he. 

V. Adverbs of Manner are those which answer to the question 
How? (a) Adverbs of Q-uality ; as, Well, ill, fain, lief, wisely, fool- 
ishly. ((3) Of Affirmation; as, Aye, yes, yea, truly, verily, indeed, 
surely, certainly, doubtless, certes, forsooth, amen, (y) Of Negation ; 
as, Nay, not, no, nowise. (6) Of Doubt ; as, Perhaps, possibly, per- 
chance, per adventure. The following may also be considered as Ad- 
verbs of Manner, though some of them may be included in another 
class, namely, Thus, how, somehow, however, howsoever, like, else, so, 
otherwise, across, together, apart, asunder, namely, aloud. 

PRIMITIVE ADVERBS OF PLACE. 

§ 370. The following Adverbs of Place are worthy of attention, 
both on account of their decided character as primitive or radical 
words, and on account of the peculiar analogous formations which 
are made from them. 

1. In. 1. In, the most simple form, employed without a comple- 
ment as an adverb, and with a complement as a preposition. 

2. Within, the emphatic form, compounded of the particles with 
and in, employed both as an adverb and as a preposition. 

3. Inner, the comparative form, but employed as an adjective of 
the positive degree ; also innermore (obsolete), with double sign of 
the comparative. 

4. Innermost, the full superlative form; also inmost, the shorter 
superlative form ; both employed as adjectives. 



ADVERBS. 367 

5. Inward, toward the interior, employed as an adjective ; and in- 
wards, with the form of the genitive, employed as an adverb. 

II. Out. 1. Out, the most simple form, employed as an adverb ; 
also out, more commonly out of, used as a preposition. 

2. Without, the emphatic form, compounded of the particles with 
and out, employed both as an adverb and as a preposition. 

3. Utter and outer, two comparative forms, employed as adjectives 
of the positive degree, but in different acceptations ; utter in a more 
metaphorical, and outer in a more physical sense. 

4. Uttermost and outermost, full superlative forms of the adjective 
in different acceptations ; also outmost and utmost, shorter superla- 
tive forms ; also outest, obsolete. 

5. Outward, employed as an adjective ; and outwards, employed 
as an adverb. 

III. Up. 1. Up, the most simple form, employed as an adverb 
and as a preposition. 

2. Above (Anglo-Saxon abufan), the emphatic form, compounded 
of the particles a, be by, and ufan up, employed both as an adverb 
and as a preposition. 

3. Over and upper, two comparative forms ; the former employed 
as an adverb or preposition, and the latter as an adjective of the 
comparative degree. 

4. Overmost and uppermost, full superlative forms ; also upmost, 
shorter superlative form, obsolete ; also upperest, obsolete ; all used 
as adjectives. 

5. Upward, adjective, and upwards, adverb. 

IV. Neath. 1. Neath (compare Anglo-Saxon neothan), obsolete, 
and its place supplied by down. 

2. Beneath and below, compound emphatic forms, employed both 
as adverbs and as prepositions. 

3. Nether and lower, adjectives of the comparative degree ; also 
nethermore, obsolete, with double sign of the comparative. 

4. Nethermost and lowermost, full superlative forms ; also lowmost, 
obsolete, and lowest, shorter superlative forms ; also netherest, obso- 
lete ; all used as adjectives. 

5. Downward, adjective, and downwards, adverb. 

V. Fore. 1. Fore and for, the most simple forms ; fore employed 
as an adverb, and for as a preposition. 

2. Before, the compound emphatic form, employed both as an ad- 
verb and as a preposition. 

3. Former, the comparative form, employed as an adjective. 

4. Foremost and first, superlative forms. 



368 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

5. Forward, adjective, forwards, adverb. 

VI. Hind. 1 . The place of the adverb is supplied by back or be- 
hind; that of the preposition by behind. 

2. Behind, the emphatic form, employed both as an adverb and as 
a preposition. 

3. Hinder, the comparative form, employed as an adjective. 

4. Hindermost, the full superlative form, obsolete ; also hindmost, 
the shorter superlative form ; also hinderest, obsolete. 

5. Backward, adjective, and backwards, adverb. 

VII. Mid. 1. The place of the adverb and preposition is supplied 
by amidst. 

2. Amidst, the compound and emphatic form, employed both as an 
adjective and as an adverb. 

3. Wanting. 

4. Middlemost, the superlative form. 

5. Midward, obsolete. 

The other primitive Adverbs of Place are by, of and off, on, to and 
too, with. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER VII. 

1. Give the two definitions of the adverb, and origin of the terra. 

2. To what class of words does the adverb belong, and what are the several 
members of this class ? 

3. What is the origin of adverbs'? Give an instance of an adverb derived 
from an adjective; and of one derived from a participle ; and of one derived 
from a pronoun ; and of one derived from a numeral ; of one derived from a 
verb, and of one derived from a substantive. 

4. What is said of adverbs ending in ly, and also of adverbs ending in a ? 

5. Mention some of the adverbial pronouns. 

6. When you use the interrogative s who, which, &c, what part of speech 
do you inquire about? and when you use the interrogatives when, whence, 
&c, what part of speech do you inquire about 1 What inference do you draw 
in respect to the names given to these interrogatives 1 

7. Give some examples of adverbs formed from concrete substantives, and 
also of adverbs formed from cases. 

8. Mention the three conclusions drawn from the examination of adverbs 
having the same form as adjectives. 

9. Give some instances of adverbial phrases. 

10. Give the classification of adverbs. 

11. W T hat question do adverbs of time answer? 

12. What question do adverbs of place answer ? What question do adverbs 
of number answer ? What question do adverbs of manner answer ] 

13. Mention the primitive adverbs of place. 



PREPOSITIONS. 369 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PREPOSITIONS? 

§ 371. A Preposition is a word which can not by itself form 
the constituent part of a simple proposition, but which can enter 
into a complex proposition in combination with a noun or pro- 
noun, to express some relation ; as, Socrates, the son of Sophro- 
niscus, was born at Alopece. Of in this case, not only con- 
nects the word son with the word Sophroniscus, but it also 
shows the relation between them. At connects Alopece with 
the verb was born, and shows the relation between them. See 
§240. 

Or, a Preposition is a word which connects an object with a 
verb or an adjective ; as, " He went through New York ;" " he 
belongs to no party ;" " he is wise for himself." 

1 . The preposition, Latin prcepositio, was so called because it was 
placed before the substantive to which it refers. Prapositio est pars 
orationis invariabilis, qua prceponitur aliis dictionibus . The name is 
faulty, inasmuch as it is founded on merely its position in the sen- 
tence, and not on its nature and office. The preposition was not 
uniformly placed before the noun to which it related. Tenus al- 
ways comes after the noun which it governs, and cum occupies the 
same position in the expressions mecum, tecum, nobiscum, vobiscum. 
In English it always precedes the noun. 

2. It was by some of the Greek grammarians classed with con- 
junctions, under the common term ovvd£<7[iog, or the connective, in- 
asmuch as the preposition connects words and the conjunction sen- 
tences. From its ordinary position, some of the Stoics called it avv- 
deofiog irpoderiKog. 

3. In showing the relations of words to each other, the preposi- 
tion performs the same office in modern languages which case-end- 
ings did in the ancient languages. The relations which they ex- 
press are various, such as relations of locality, of time, of causality. 
The original relation expressed by prepositions appears to have been 
that of locality. Prepositions are relational words ox form-words. 

Aa 



370 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



A LIST OF THE PREPOSITIONS. 

§ 372. 1. At, after (the comparative of aft), by, down, far, from, in, 
of, on, over, past, round, since, till, to, through, under, up, with. These 
have been called simple prepositions. 

2. Aboard, above, about, across, against, along, amid, amidst, among, 
amongst, around, athwart. These are formed by prefixing a. 

3. Before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, betwixt, be- 
yond. These are formed by prefixing be. 

4. Into, out of, throughout, toward, towards, upon, until \ unto, under- 
neath, within, without. These are formed by compounding two prep- 
ositions, or a preposition and an adverb. 

5. Bating, barring, concurring, during, excepting, notwithstanding, 
regarding, respecting, touching. These were originally participles, 
and they can be treated as participles. 

6. Save and except can be treated as verbs in the imperative mode. 
Nigh, near, next, opposite, can be viewed as prepositions in construc- 
tion, or as adjectives, the preposition to being understood. Along 
may be considered as a preposition, in certain combinations; as, 
" He went along the river." But, when equivalent to except, has the 
force of a preposition. 

7. There are also certain Prepositional Phrases ; as, According to, 
in respect of; as, On account of the love=propter amorem. 

ORIGIN OF CERTAIN PREPOSITIONS. 

§ 373. Athwart is from a and thwart, an adjective or a verb. 
Moved " contrary with thwart obliquities." — Milton. " Swift as a 
shooting star in autumn thwarts the night." — Idem. The meaning 
of the word, here used as an adjective or verb, is seen in the prep- 
osition ; as, " Moving athwart the sky." Across, in formation and 
meaning, is analogical with athwart. Against is from Anglo-Saxon 
gean, ongeon. It comes from the verb gan, to go. Among is from 
Anglo-Saxon onmang, verb gemengan, to mingle. About, Anglo- 
Saxon abutan. It seems to be related to the French word bout, the 
butt or limit of a thing. 

Between r=by twain, by twice. Sir Philip Sidney uses bcticccne 
as an adjective : " His authoritie having been abused by those great 
lords, who, in those betwecne times of reigning, had brought in the 
worst kind of oligarchic" In the Old English we find the adverb 
atwayne : "With his axe he smote it atwayne." Beyond seems to 
be of the same origin as the preposition against, being from the 
verb gan, to go. It is equivalent to " that place being passed." Be- 



PREPOSITIONS. 371 

neath =by the nether, that is, lower part. By, Anglo-Saxon be or 
big, Gothic hi, Swedish be, Danish by. The word, in composition, is 
often written be ; as, Because, besiege. 

Before, behind, are of the same nature, in this respect, t\i&t fore 
and hind are to the nouns, in composition with be. They are still 
used in an adjectival sense in foreman, hind wheel, &c. Afore and 
tofore were formerly used instead of before, and they are still used in 
the expressions aforesaid, heretofore. 

For and fore appear to have been originally the same word. 
Our common words " where/bre" and " there/ore" are equivalent to 
"for which" and "for this ;" and the latter is often written forthy 
in ancient authors, as the former is written for why by some of mod- 
ern date : 

" And forthy, if it happe in any wise 
That here be any cover in this place. 1 ' 

Chaucer's Troilus. 

" Solyman had three hundred field-pieces, that a camel might 
well carry one of them, being taken from the carriage ; for why, 
Solyman, purposing to draw the emperor into battle, had brought 
no greater pieces of battery with him." — Knolle's History of Tur- 
key. For said was used as foresaid, forlok for forelook. For still has 
a meaning kindred to fore or before. For is also used as a conjunc- 
tion ; as, " That ye may be the children of your Father who is in 
heaven ; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good." 
In such sentences for has the sense of because. It may be said, in 
general, that for indicates the cause or motive of any action or cir- 
cumstance. 

In, Latin in, Greek ev, Gothic in, Anglo-Saxon in, French en, 
Spanish en, Italian in, German ein, Danish ind, Sanscrit antu. This 
relates to place and time, and can be coupled, in the way of opposi- 
tion, to out. This last word is in Anglo-Saxon ut. Various com- 
pounds are formed from these ; as, Within, without, or inwiih, out- 
with, as written by some ancient writers. The words withouten and 
forouten were also formerly used. 

Adown, afore, aneath, astride, despite, outside, per, &c, are some- 
times used as prepositions. 

THE NATURE AND OFFICE OF PREPOSITIONS. 

§ 374. 1. "The preposition is a word placed before a noun." This 
is merely an external definition, and does not indicate its internal 
nature. 

2. Prepositions express neither essences (like substantives) nor 



372 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

activities (like verbs and adjectives), but only their relations. They 
express, not the substance, but the form of our ideas. Hence they 
are ranked by Becker with form-words. 

3. Prepositions are indeclinable, as the relations of things are ex- 
ternal to the things themselves, and are not affected by the changes 
which take place in them. 

4. Prepositions express relations between verbs whose original 
nature consists in activity or motion, or some other parts of speech 
involving the verbal idea, and a noun expressing an essence. Of 
course, with very few exceptions, they denote local relations, or other 
relations conceived of as local relations by the mind. 

5. The relations expressed by prepositions are either external of 
internal to the human mind. The external relations are of a phys- 
ical nature, and obvious to the senses. The internal relations be- 
long to the province of the intellect. As these higher relations are 
subject to the same analysis -as the sensible relations, and the mind 
supposes a close resemblance between the physical and intellectual 
worlds, so prepositions denoting the external relations are also em- 
ployed to express the internal. 

6. Physical relations are for the most part local. Activity is mo- 
tion. Relations of activity are directions of motion. These local 
relations arrange themselves in antitheses, forming a beautiful sys- 
tem ; as, In and out, the only absolute relation of space ; Latin cis 
and trans ; before and behind ; above and below, relative relations of 
space; to and from, relations of direction; into and out of, a com- 
pound relation, etc. This system is too little regarded in our com- 
mon grammars. 

7. Intellectual relations are conceived of as physical, and are ex- 
pressed by prepositions denoting physical relations. They are ex- 
hibited to others as they strike our own minds. This is shown, 

(1.) In cases where the primary or physical meaning of the verb 
is lost ; as, To copy from a picture ; to rule over a country. 

(2.) In cases where the physical meaning is not lost ; as, To rely on 
another's promise ; to tend to a given result ; to insult over any one. 

(3.) In cases where the force of the preposition had been already 
expressed in the verb ; as, To consult with a person : to abstain/rom 
a thing ; to concur with another ; antipathy against another. 

8. Prepositions thus exhibit a wonderful correlation between the 
intellectual and physical worlds ; a correlation which shows that 
both worlds proceeded from the same Author. 

0. Prepositions exhibit the wonderful economy of language. The 
number of relations is almost infinite, yet they are all expressed by 



PREPOSITIONS. 373 

a comparatively small number of prepositions, and this without any 
confusion or danger of mistake. We are guided in the meaning by 
the nature of the ideas between which the relation exists ; but if 
one local relation were used for another, confusion would imme- 
diately arise. 

10. As the object of prepositions is the same with that of cases 
in nouns, hence, in those languages where there are no cases, there 
must be more prepositions ; and vice versa, in those languages which 
have numerous cases, fewer prepositions are necessary. 

11. Whether the expression of relations by cases or by preposi- 
tions in the Indo-European languages is the more ancient, it is dif- 
ficult to decide. With respect to the external and lower relations, 
it is natural to believe that prepositions were used from the first for 
their expression ; but with respect to the internal spiritual relations 
the matter is not so clear. It would seem as if the language-makers 
had begun by expressing the internal relations by inflection, and the 
external by prepositions, and that the contest between these two 
principles has been the occasion of the endless variety of existing 
languages. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER VIII. 

1. Give the two definitions of the preposition, with examples. 

2. What is the derivation of the term, and does the name describe the na- 
ture and office of the preposition 1 

3. With what part of speech did some of the Greek grammarians class it ] 

4. What office do prepositions perform in modern languages as compared 
with ancient languages ? 

5. What are some of the relations which prepositions express 1 and what 
was the original relation which they expressed ? 

6. Mention some of the simple prepositions, and some of the compound of 
the several classes. 

7. Mention some of the prepositions which were originally participles ; and 
some that were verbs in the imperative mode ; and some that were adjectives ; 
and some of the prepositional phrases. 

8. Describe the nature and office of prepositions. 

9. In expressing relations, which were prior, case-endings or prepositions 1 



374 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CONJUNCTIONS. 

§ 375. A Conjunction is a word which can connect two prop- 
ositions without making a part of either ; as, " The sun shines 
and the sky is clear ;" " You admire him because he is brave." 
See § 240. 

Or, a Conjunction is a word which connects two sentences or 
parts of sentences; as, "John writes and Thomas reads;" "I 
will visit him if he desires it." 

The word conjunction is derived from the Latin con, with, and 
junctus, joined=joined together. The distinguishing characteristic 
of the conjunction is, that it shows the relation of sentences or propo- 
sitions ; thus, "He sang and danced"z="He sang and he danced." 
In each side of this equation there are really two propositions ; the 
only difference between them is, that in one of them there is an el- 
lipsis of the word he. A preposition connects words; a conjunction 
connects propositions. The same word is sometimes a conjunction, 
and at other times a preposition or an adverb. See § 361. A prep- 
osition is a part of speech serving to show the particular mode in 
which one sentence is connected with another sentence. Conjunc- 
tions are relational words ox form-words. 

k 376. Harris's classification of conjunctions. 

C 1. Copulative, 
1 . Connective, J C x Suppositive, 

1 2. Contmuative,-? ^ < Causal. 



Positive, < 



Collective. 



. . 11. Simple, 
2. Disjunctive,^ < 1. Absolute or Comparative, 

f 2. Adversative, < . _ _ f 

( 2. Adequate or Inadequate. 

1 . According to the above scheme, conjunctions are divided into 
classes, according as they connect the meanings of sentences or not, 
as well as the sentences themselves. The first are called Connect- 
ives, because they connect the meanings of sentences. The sec 
ond class are called Disjunctives, because they do not connect the 



CONJUNCTIONS. 375 

meanings of sentences: "Cmsar was ambitious, and Rome was en- 
slaved;" u C(Bsar was ambitious, or Rome was enslaved." It is evi- 
dent that the words and and or alike join the two sentences, but it 
is equally evident that they join them very differently. In the one 
case it is signified by the conjunction and that the propositions stand 
on the same basis, and are both meant to be asserted with the same 
degree of confidence ; in the other, it is signified by the conjunction 
or that the ground on which the one assertion is made excludes the 
other. Both and and or are conjunctions — both mark that a relation 
exists between the two sentences — but the particular relations which 
they mark are different. In the one case there is accumulation ; in 
the other, separation. 

2. The Connectives are subdivided into Copulatives and Contin- 
uatives. Copulatives only couple sentences. Continuatives, on the 
other hand, consolidate sentences into one continuous whole. Thus 
we might say with propriety, "Franklin was a philosopher and Hen- 
ri/ was an orator." But it would be absurd to say, "Franklin was a 
philosopher because Henry was an orator." And is a copulative ; be- 
cause, a continuative. 

3. The Continuatives are subdivided into Suppositive and Posi- 
tive. The suppositives are such as if; the positives such as because. 
The former imply necessary connection, but do not assert existence ; 
the latter imply both the one and the other : " If we wish others to 
be good, we should set them an example by doing well ourselves ;" "7 
shall not walk out because it rains" 

4. The Positives are either Causal or Collective. The causals 
are such as because, &c, which subjoin causes to effects ; as, The 
sun is in eclipse because the moon intervenes. The collectives are 
such as subjoin effects to causes ; as, The moon intervenes, there- 
fore the sun is in eclipse. 

5. In like manner, the Disjunctives are divided into two classes, 
the Simple and Adversative. A simple disjunctive conjunction dis- 
joins and opposes indefinitely; as, Either it is day or it is night. 
An adversative disjoins with a positive and definite opposition, as- 
serting the one alternative and denying the other ; as, It is not day 
but it is night. 

6. The Adversatives admit of two distinctions : first, as they are 
either Absolute or Comparative ; and, secondly, as they are either 
Adequate or Inadequate. The absolute adversative is where there 
is a simple opposition of the same attribute to different subjects, or 
of different attributes in the same subjects, or of different attributes 
in different subjects ; as, 1. Achilles was brave, but Thersites was not; 



376 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

2. Gorgias was a sophist, but not a philosopher ; 3. Plato was a philoso- 
pher, but Hippias was a sophist. 

The comparative adversative marks the equality or excess of the 
same attribute in different subjects ; as, Burke was more studious 
than Sheridan ; Byron was as great a poet as Canning was an orator. 
These relate to substances and their qualities. 

The other sort of adversatives relate to events, and their causes 
or consequences. Harris applies to these latter the terms Adequate 
and Inadequate. Thus, Troy will be taken unless the Palladium be 
preserved. Here the word unless implies that the preservation of 
the Palladium will be an adequate preventive of the capture of Troy, 
On the other hand, when we say, Troy will be taken although Hec- 
tor defend it, we intimate that Hector's defending it, though employed 
to prevent the capture, will be an inadequate preventive. 

The above classification has been brought forward, not so much 
for the purpose of commending its accuracy as for exhibiting the fact 
that conjunctions show the different relations of sentences. 

THE COMMON CLASSIFICATION. 

§ 377. I. The Copulative. And, as, both, because, even, for, if, 
that, then, since, seeing, so, but. 

II. The Disjunctive. Although, but, either, neither, except, lest, or, 
nor, notwithstanding, provided, than, though, whereas, whether. 

This classification, though it has no great logical accuracy to rec- 
ommend it, is convenient, especially for young pupils. Some of 
these conjunctions can be arranged in pairs which are Correlative ; 
as, .As — as ; as — so ; if — then ; either — or ; neither — nor ; whether — 
or i although or though — yet. The one conjunction in each couplet 
is correlative to the other. 

THE OFFICE OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

§ 378. It is a question among grammarians whether conjunctions 
connect words as well as sentences. Horne Tooke objected that 
there are cases in which the words commonly called conjunctions 
do not connect sentences, or show any relation between them. 
" You and /and Peter rode to London, is one sentence made up of 
three. Well ! so far matters seem to go on very smoothly. It is, 
You rode, I rode, Peter rode. But now let us change the instance, 
and try some others, which are full as common. Two and two make 
four; AB and BC and C A form a triangle; John and Jane are a 
handsome couple. Are two four? Does AB form a triangle, BC form a 
triangle, C A form a triangle ? Is John a couple ? Is Jane a couple V 



CONJUNCTIONS. 377 

This objection of Mr. Tooke's seems to have induced Lindley 
Murray, after defining a conjunction as " a part of speech chiefly 
used to connect sentences," to add, " it sometimes connects only- 
words." 

Now, even if it could be shown that the word and, generally used 
as a conjunction, was occasionally used with a different force and ef- 
fect, that circumstance would not make it less a conjunction when 
used conjunctionally. In the instances cited, however, by Tooke, 
the word and serves merely to distribute the whole into its parts, all 
which bear relation to the verb ; and it is observable that, though 
the verb be not twice expressed, yet it is expressed differently from 
what it would have been had there been only a single nominative. 
We say "John is handsome," "Jane is handsome;" but we say 
"John and Jane are a handsome couple." In this particular the use 
of the conjunction varies the assertion, and thus does, in effect, com- 
bine different sentences; for though AB does not form a triangle, 
yet A3 forms one part of a triangle, and BC forms another part, and 
CA the remaining part, and these parts are the whole. Since the 
first publication of this passage, I have been glad to see the view 
here taken confirmed by the authority of Dr. Latham. He says: 
" Although the statement that conjunctions connect, not words, but 
propositions, and that exclusively, is nearly coeval with grammar, 
it is not yet sufficiently believed or acted upon. "What, I have fre- 
quently been asked, are we to do with such expressions as ' John 
and Thomas carry a sack to market;' 'three and three make six 1 ?' 
Surely this does not mean that John carries one sack, and Thomas 
another ; that one three makes one sum of six, and a second three 
makes another sum of six. 

" The answer to this lies in making the proper limitation to the 
predicates. It is not true that John and Thomas each carry a sack ; 
but it is true that they each carry. It is not true that each three 
makes six, but it is true that each three makes (i. e., contributes to 
the making). As far, then, as the essential parts of the predicate 
are concerned, there are two propositions ; and it is upon the essen- 
tial parts only that a grammarian rests his definition of a conjunc- 
tion." — Sir John Stoddart's Philosophy of Language, p. 200. 

ORIGIN OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

§ 379. Conjunctions are generally derived from some other part 
of speech ; frequently from verbs in the imperative mode. Horne 
Tooke, indeed, asserts that they all are traceable to some other part 
of speech. He says, " There is not such a thing as a conjunction in 



378 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

any language which may not, by a skillful herald, be traced home 
to its own family and origin." 

And, a principal copulative, has the force of add. I rode and Pe- 
ter walked = I rode add Peter walked. Its origin is not well known. 

Eke is another copulative, Anglo-Saxon eac,.also, and eacan, to add 
to. It seems to be related to the Latin ac. In Danish the conjunc- 
tion is og, and the verb ager. In Swedish the conjunction is och, 
and the verb oka. In Dutch the conjunction is ook, and the verb 
auchan. In Moeso-Gothic the conjunction is auk, and the verb aukan. 
In English the conjunction is eke, from Anglo-Saxon eacan. But, on 
the other hand, the Latin ac differs from augeo ; and the Greek av 
wants the characteristic | of avt-etv ; and the Icelandic og differs 
from the verb auka. 

Also, Anglo-Saxon eal, all, and swa, so, is a copulative with a 
still more specific meaning, inasmuch as it implies something of si- 
militude with what went before. 

If, a suppositive or conditional conjunction, is in signification 
equivalent to grant, being an imperative form from the Anglo-Saxon 
gifan, to give. It was anciently sometimes spelled gif and yif 

An is also a conditional conjunction, from annan, to grant : "An 
you had any eye behind you, you might see more detraction at your 
heels than fortune before you." — Shakspeare. 

As, a causal conjunction (compare German als), is a contraction 
of also. This will account for its being sometimes used as a pro- 
noun. So is a relative to the antecedent as, or as is an antecedent 
to the relative that, which is also a pronoun, used as a conjunction. 

Because, a causal conjunction, was originally a combination of 
words, by and cause. Some of the older writers say by cause that. 

Since, also a causal, is from Anglo-Saxon sith or sithen— since. 

Therefore, a collective or illative conjunction, is a compound 
word, pronominal in one of its elements, and equivalent to the Latin 
Quam ob rem. It has two applications : first, when we state effect 
as a matter of fact ; and, secondly, when we state it as a matter of 
reasoning ; as, 1. "He is guilty, therefore he blushes ;" 2. "He blush- 
es, therefore he is guilty." In the first we state a fact, in the second 
a conclusion. 

It is a circumstance which often occasions error and perplexity, 
that both these classes of conjunctions (the causal and the illative) 
denote not only cause and effect, but premiss and conclusion; e.g., 
If I say this ground is rich because the trees on it are flourishing, 
or, the trees are flourishing, and therefore the soil must be rich, I 
employ these conjunctions to denote premiss and conclusion ; for it 



CONJUNCTIONS. 379 

is plain that the luxuriance of the trees is not the cause of the soil's 
fertility, but only the cause of my knowing it. If, again, I say the 
trees flourish because the ground is rich, or, the ground is rich, and 
therefore the trees flourish, I am using the very same conjunctions 
to denote the connection of cause and effect ; for, in this case, the 
luxuriance of the trees being evident to the eye would hardly need 
to be proved, but might need to be accounted for. 

Wherefore is analogous to therefore in origin and force. 

Then, an illative conjunction, is of pronominal origin. See § 308. 
It is also used as an adverb. 

Either, neither, or, nor, are simple disjunctives. They might 
be called alternatives, either and or being taken affirmatively, and 
neither and nor negatively. Either is in origin a pronoun. See 
§ 314. Or is a contraction of other, which is also a pronoun. Nei- 
ther and nor are simply either or or with a negative particle prefixed. 
Or is frequently followed by else, as nor is by yet. 

Else, a simple conjunction, related to Anglo-Saxon elles, and the 
Latin alius. 

Than, pronominal in its origin, is reckoned by Harris among ad- 
versatives of comparison. 

Unless, from Anglo-Saxon onlesan, to loose, called by Harris an 
adversative adequate, with reference to the prevention of an event, 
is called by Crombie an exceptive. 

Except appears to have the force of unless in sentences like the 
following : " This realme is like to lacke bothe stuffe of artillery and 
of artificers of the same, except a provision of due remedy in this be- 
half be the more spedily founde." 

Though has already been mentioned as, according to the scheme 
of Harris, an inadequate adversative: it is sometimes called a con- 
cessive. It is the Anglo-Saxon peah. It is an antecedent to the 
relative conjunctions yet and still ; e.g. : 

" Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane, 
Yet will I try the last." — Shakspeare. 

" Though I do condemn report myself 
As a mere sound, I still will be so tender 
Of what concerns you in all points of honor, 
That the immaculate whiteness of your form 
Shall never be sullied." — Massinger. 

THE TWO WAYS IN WHICH SENTENCES ARE CON- 
NECTED. 

§ 380. Conjunctions show the relation of sentences one to another. 



380 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Two sentences are connected either by way of subordination or by 
way of co-ordination. They are connected in the way of subordina- 
tion when one of them can be considered as standing in the place 
of a substantive, adjective, or adverb ; as, " He reported that the 
king died''' ( — death of the king) ; "the foreigner who travels" ( — trav- 
eling foreigner); "he was at work before the sun rose" ( = early). 
Conjunctions, when used to connect subordinate sentences, may be 
called subordinative conjunctions. 

Two sentences are, on the other hand, connected in the way of 
co-ordination when they are not thus dependent one upon another ; 
as, " He is ill, and he has called a physician ;" " he goes to France, 
but he can not speak French." Conjunctions which express a con- 
nection of this description may be called co-ordinative conjunctions. 
See § 537. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER IX. 

1. Give the two definitions of a conjunction, and the derivation of the 
term. 

2. What is the distinguishing characteristic of conjunctions 1 

3. Give Harris's classification of conjunctions, with examples of the sev- 
eral kinds. 

4. Give the common classification, with instances of copulative, disjunctive, 
and correlative conjunctions. 

5. State Horne Tooke's opinion of the office of conjunctions, with exam- 
ples and illustrations. 

6. Give Murray's definition of conjunctions. 

7. Give Sir John Stoddart's opinion of the office of conjunctions, with 
examples and illustrations. 

8. What is said of the origin of conjunctions % 

9. In what two ways are sentences connected'? 

10. Give examples of a sentence connected in the way of subordination, 
and of a sentence connected in the way of co-ordination. 



INTERJECTIONS. 381 



CHAPTER X. 

INTERJECTIONS. 

§ 381. An Interjection is a word which can neither form the 
part of a proposition, nor connect two different propositions, hut 
is thrown in to express some sudden thought or emotion of the 
mind ; as, oh ! pshaw ! alas ! 

The word Interjection is from the Latin word interjeclio, a 
throwing in, and is not in grammatical construction with a sen- 
tence. 

1. Of the interjections, some are Primitive or original, others are 
Derived from other parts of speech. The primitive interjections are 
a sort of universal language, yet not without some variety in differ- 
ent tongues. The derived interjections vary, of course, in different 
languages. 

2. Primitive interjections, with which we are principally con- 
cerned, are all formed by onomatopoeia. 

a. Some of them result from the position into which the vocal 
and articulating organs have a tendency to be thrown by the mus- 
cular action of the face and other parts in those movements which 
constitute the natural gestures or signs of emotions. This tendency 
is more or less indefinite. Hence, in the first place, the resulting 
word for the same emotion may be different in different languages, 
according to the habits of articulation which accompany the several 
languages ; and, in the second place, the same interjection, like 
words in Chinese, may subserve different purposes, according to the 
intonation. 

Thus pain, accompanied with languor or grief, relaxes all the 
muscles, and the mouth being consequently open, with the other or- 
gans in their usual state, the sound ah is produced with a monoton- 
ous and feeble intonation, and degenerating into a mere groan. 
Sharp and sudden pain, on the contrary, throws the muscles into a 
state of tension round the lips, and produces oh, with the breath 
drawn in, and the semitonic intonation described by Dr. Rush. 

Surprise raises the brows and opens the mouth suddenly ; hence 
Ah, with an abrupt and upward tone, expresses that emotion. 

Wonder or astonishment rounds the lips ; hence results the inter- 
jection Oh ! with a downward intonation. 



382 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Contempt is accompanied with a protrusion of the lips ; hence it 
is expressed by pish, pshaw. 

b. Other primitive interjections result from the imitation of ob- 
jective or outward sounds. 

For instance, shoo, shoo, which is used in driving away poultry, 
was probably suggested by the rustling of their wings when they 
ran away suddenly ; sheep and lambs are called by the cry of knan, 
hnan, in imitation of the sound which they make in running to be 
fed ; dogs are called to persons by sucking the breath through the 
lips, in imitation of the cry of puppies. To the onomatopoeia may 
also be referred such interjections as hush, 'st, whist, used to enjoin 
stillness and silence, as they all consist merely in atonic or whisper- 
ing sounds. 

3. Derived interjections are either (1.) terms descriptive of the 
emotion, with appropriate intonations ; as, Horrid ! shocking ! joy ! 
(2.) names, common and proper, used in addressisg animals ; (3.) 
verbs in the imperative mode ; as, Hark ! see ! behold ! help ! halt ! 
or nouns used as imperatives, by means of the intonation ; as, Si- 
lence ! peace ! courage ! or adverbs, used in like manner for the im- 
perative ; as, Softly ! away ! or (4.) abbreviated forms, used partic- 
ularly by the vulgar ; as, Gramercy (French grand merci, great 
thanks) ; / marry (for ay Mary) ; 's death (for by his death). 

4. Interjections have not, in our common grammars, assumed the 
importance nor obtained the scientific treatment which they deserve. 

For if we regard language as originating in and related to our in- 
tellectual faculties only, then interjections lose their claim to be con- 
sidered parts of speech. But if we consider language in its broad- 
est sense, as arising from our whole spiritual nature, interjections 
have a just claim to be considered an integral part of language. 

The fact that interjections express the multiplied emotions of the 
human mind, and lend their aid where all other language fails in 
this respect; that they are the only medium of intercourse between 
man and the brute creation, or of animals with each other ; and that 
they are a natural universal language, is sufficient to exhibit their 
importance in a philosophic view. There can be no doubt that in- 
terjections, rightly used, contribute much to render language an ex- 
act picture of the human mind. 

5. Some interjections are the same in languages very remote 
from each other, as the following examples will show : Greek <L, 
Latin O, Gothic o, English O, Syriac o, to call attention. Greek 
(pev, Latin phy, English fie, French ^/j, Arabic vffu, to express aver- 
sion. Greek oval, Latin vai, Gothic vat, English woe, Hebrew oi, 



INTERJECTIONS. 383 

hoi, Arabic wa, to express grief. Latin Ah, English Ah, Hebrew ach, 
Arabic ah, to express grief. 

English interjections are divided into, 

I. Natural exclamations, expressing passion or emotion, including, 

1. Passive emotions, in which the human mind is overpowered: 
(1.) wonder or amazement; as, Oh, pronounced with a downward 
inflection; (2.) pain, grief, or lamentation; as, Ah, Oh, woe, alas; 
(3.) loathing or aversion; as, Fie, pish, pshaw, tysh, ugh (guttural). 

2. Emotions under which the mind is still active: (1.) surprise 
or admiration ; as, Heigh, hoity-toity ; (2.) joy or exultation ; as, 
Huzza, hurra, joy ; (3.) desire; as, ; (4.) laughter; as, Ha ha-, or 
tittering; as, Hi hi ; (5.) threatening ; as, Woe. 

II. Natural exclamations, expressing a state of the will, addressed 
to our fellow-men, or else employed to allure or drive away domes- 
tic animals. 

1. Addressed to our fellow-men : (1.) calling attention generally ; 
as, O, ho, halloo; (2.) enjoining silence; as, Hush, 'st, whist; (3.) 
calling attention to a particular object; as, Lo, behold, see. 

2. Addressed to cows ; as, Coh, coh. 

3. Addressed to goats and sheep ; as, Knan, knan. 

4. Addressed to dogs ; a whistle made by sucking the breath 
through the teeth. 

5. Addressed to cats ; as, Minny, minny ; also scat. 

6. Addressed to pigs; as, Pig, pig ; also shogh, shogh. 

7. Addressed to draught cattle ; as, Haw,jee, hwo. 

III. Imitations of natural sounds, whether of animals or of inan- 
imate objects. 

1, Of animals: (1.) of cows; as, Moo; (2.) of dogs; as, Boio 
wow; (3.) of chickens ; as, Peep, peep ; (4.) of geese ; as, Quack. 

2. Of inanimate objects ; as, of a bell, Ding along ; of a clock or 
watch, Tick, tick ; of a drum, Row de dow dow ; of a knocking at the 
door, Rat a tat tat ; of a trumpet, Tantara, tantara ; of removing a 
trumpet from the mouth, Bat, &c. 

IV. Imitations of visible appearances ; as, Flash, zigzag. 

Other parts of speech are sometimes formed from interjections ; 
as, To puff at, from puff; to ache, from Ah ; the noun woe, from in- 
terjection woe. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER X. 

1. Give the definition of an interjection, and the origin of the term. 

2. Explain the importance of interjections as a part of language. 

3. Mention the different classes of interjections, with examples 



384 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER XL 

DERIVATION. 

§ 382. Derivation has been denned to be the drawing or 
tracing of a word from its root or original. In the grammatical 
sense, the cases, numbers, and genders of nouns ; the persons, 
modes, and tenses of verbs ; the ordinal numbers ; the degrees 
of comparison are regarded as matters of derivation. 

But derivation proper comprises only those changes that 
ivords undergo which are not referable to some of the heads 
just mentioned. It is in this latter sense that the word is em- 
ployed in this chapter. Derivation in this sense, and historical 
etymology, are sometimes used as convertible terms. 

Derivation, used in the widest sense, includes both classes of 
changes. In this sense, every word, except it be in the simple 
form of the root, is a derived word. 

THE CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH 

LANGUAGE. 

§ 383. The English tongue, as it now exists, is not a pure, simple 
language, derived from one source, but it is made up of many lan- 
guages. 

The constituent parts or elements of the English language are the 
Anglo-Saxon basis, inherited from our ancestors ; extensive admix- 
tures from three dead languages, viz., the Latin, the Greek, and the 
Hebrew; exotic or foreign terms from various living languages ; and 
words of mixed origin. 

I. The Anglo-Saxon portion of the language is its basis or ground- 
work. Although the vocabulary of such words is comparatively 
small, yet it embraces all the pronouns and pronominal words ; all 
the numerals, cardinal and ordinal, except second ; all the primary 
particles ; all the terminations necessary for the inflection of sub- 
stantives, the comparison of adjectives, and the conjugation of verbs, 
as well as most of the verbs, adjectives, and substantives in com- 
mon use. Hence whole paragraphs may easily be written with this 



DERIVATION. 335 

part of the language only, while without it hardly a sentence can 
be formed. 

The Anglo-Saxon language belongs to the Gothic or Teutonic 
family of languages, of which the German, Dutch, Danish, and 
Swedish are also branches. "With the Anglo-Saxon there was, with- 
out doubt, an intermixture of the Celtic, but it is not easy now to 
make the separation. 

II. Admixtures from three dead languages, viz., the Latin, the 
Greek, and the Hebrew. 

1. The admixture of words from the ancient Latin is owing to the 
conquest of England by the Normans, who spoke Norman-French ; 
to the subsequent close intercourse with the French people ; and to 
the influence of the learned class, who studied Latin, and wrote in 
that language. What is owing to each of these influences severally 
it is difficult now to determine, nor is it necessary. A few Latin 
words had already passed into the Anglo-Saxon, which we have 
also inherited. 

This portion of our language is very considerable, whether we re- 
gard the number or the length of the words. As the English lan- 
guage is now studied, these words are imperfectly appreciated by 
those who have not learned Latin. 

To the Latin family of languages belong the existing languages, 
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. 

2. The admixture of words from the ancient Greek is owing, for 
the most part, to a conventional usage among the learned of Europe, 
speaking different languages, of forming scientific and technical 
terms from the ancient Greek. A few Greek words had already 
passed into the Latin, or into the Teutonic directly, which have also 
come down to us. 

This portion of our language is also considerable. To the com- 
mon English mind these words are now so many proper' names. 
New facilities are wanting to explain them to the young. 

The ancient Greek, as a spoken language, has now been super- 
seded by the modern Greek. 

3. Admixture of words from the ancient Hebrew. 

Although the Hebrew, as a spoken language, has never come in 
direct contact with the English, being far removed from it both in 
time and space, yet, through the sacred writings and other influen- 
ces, the number of words derived by us from the Hebrew is not few. 

The Hebrew belongs to the Shemitish family of languages, of 
which the Chaldaic, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic are also branches. 

III. Exotic or foreign terms from various living languages, owing 

Bb 



386 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

to civil, commercial, or literary intercourse, form a third constituent 
part or element of the English language. 

Words, more or less numerous, have been borrowed from most of 
the nations with which we have any intercourse, to express objects 
or things common among them, or in which we have been instruct- 
ed by them. The meaning of such words has often afterward been 
extended. 

IV. Words not reducible to either of the three preceding heads 
form a fourth constituent part or element of the English language. 
These include, 1. Proper English words of mixed origin; and, 2. 
Malformations and hybrid words. 

NATURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEUTONIC POR- 
TION OF OUR LANGUAGE. 

§ 384. The consideration of the natural development of language 
adds much to its right appreciation. 

The natural development of the Anglo-Saxon or Teutonic portion 
of our language has been nearly as follows : 

I. Instinctive forms and pronominal elements; as, Ah, oh; mew, 
peep ; th, wh. 

II. Stem-verbs or roots ; as, Bind, swim. 

III. Stem-nouns; as, Blank, much ; band, arm. 

IV. Reduplicate forms ; as, Chit-chat, sing-so?ig. 

V. Primary derivatives ; as, Chatte?', toilsome, wisely, baker, freedom. 

VI. Secondary derivatives ; as, Fearfully, tiresomeness. 

VII. Words with prefixes ; as, Arise, forbid. 

VIII. Compound words ; as, God-man, rats^-bane, pick-purse. 

IX. Disguised derivatives and compounds ; as, Daisy, not. 

I. INSTINCTIVE FORMS AND PRONOMINAL ELEMENTS. 

§ 385. The natural or instinctive formations, the first or lowest 
step in language, include interjections and imitations of natural 
sounds ; as, Ah, oh ; mew, peep. These have been already considered. 

If we take a general etymological survey of pronouns and pro- 
nominal words, they will be found to arrange themselves, not under 
verbal roots, like other parts of speech, but under certain element- 
ary sounds or syllables. 

1. Ic, the element of the first person singular subject, appears now 
only in the mutilated form /. Compare Anglo-Saxon ic, Old En- 
glish ic. 

2. M, the element of the first person singular object, appears in 
me, my, mine. 



DERIVATION. 337 

3. W, the element of the first person plural, appears in we, our, 
ours, us. 

4. Th, the element of the second person singular, intermediate 
between Latin t and German d, appears in thou, thy, thine, thee. 
Perhaps radically connected with th, the demonstrative element 
mentioned below. 

5. Y, the element of the second person plural, appears in ye, your, 
yours, you. 

6. H, the element of the third person and of the nearer demon- 
strative, appears in he, his, him, her (genitive and accusative), it (An- 
glo-Saxon hit), its, hence, here, hither. 

7. Th, the element of the more remote demonstrative, appears in 
that, those, this, these, the, thilk, thence, there, thither, then, thus, though, 
they, their, theirs, them. But this and these have been transferred to 
the nearer demonstratives, and they, their, theirs, and them are used 
as pronouns of the third person. 

8. S, another form of the remoter demonstrative element, appears 
in she, so, some, also, as, such. 

9. Wh, the interrogative element, appears in who, what, whose, 
whom, which, whether, whence, where, whither, when, how, why. All these 
words, excepting whether, are also employed as relatives. 

II. TEUTONIC STE M-W ORDS OR ROOTS. 

§ 386. 1. With the exception of pronouns, interjections, and a few 
onomatopoetical forms, words in English, as well as in most other 
languages, are, as linguistical signs of ideas, composed of two parts, 
viz., the root, and the modifying element which is attached to the 
root and gives it its form. 

2. It is obviously important for every one who would master the 
whole vocabulary of any language, or would possess a full and thor- 
ough knowledge of the words which he employs, to have a clear 
perception of the root whence a word is derived, and of the force 
of the various modifications by which the word has been affected. 
What is intended by calling one animal a sloth, another a hare, an- 
other a wolf, another a crab, is first fully understood and appreci- 
ated when we are able to trace back these words to their several 
roots, viz., English slow; Sanscrit sW, to spring; Gothic walw, to 
seize ; Norse kriapa, to creep. Without such knowledge language 
is merely a collection of proper names, or an assemblage of technical 
expressions, the application of which is to be learned by dint of 
memory, and the meaning of which, like that of foreign words, wo 
may understand, but not see into. 



388 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

3. Although instinct, without direct instruction, by leading us to 
consider words in groups, may avail much in the acquirement of 
this kind of knowledge, yet it would he strange if wisely directed 
study could not aid the mind, and increase its powers and capabili- 
ties. 

4. A root, taken in its strictest sense, is a significant element, from 
which words, as forms of thought and parts of speech, are derived. 
It is not itself a word, but that which lies at the foundation of a 
whole family of words. The root has signification, but not a defi- 
nite signification, in the system of our ideas or in the system of lan- 
guage. It does not express an idea which can form a component 
part of language, but only the intuition or appearance which is com- 
mon to the noun or idea and the verb or judgment, and wants the 
modification which makes it a noun or verb. It is no part of ordi- 
nary speech. 

5. The root, as described above, is something below the surface, 
but, in common parlance, the name is extended to words derived 
immediately from the root, which are, as it were, the first sections 
of the trunk or stem which appear above the ground. It is conven- 
ient to give the root such a vowel or enunciation as it assumes in 
its first birth or coming into existence. Thus band may be consid- 
ered the root of band, bind, bond, bundle, &c. 

6. Roots, in the looser sense, generally denote physical objects, 
are monosyllabic in their form, composed of simple rather than 
double consonants, and of the primary rather than the secondary 
vowels. 

7. The doctrine concerning the formation of words from roots, as 
the roots do not properly exist in the language, and are only discov- 
erable by etymology, is one of the deepest and most difficult in gram- 
mar, yet it is indispensable for sound criticism. In the Western 
languages especially, the roots are nearly obliterated. Hence many 
phenomena in these languages have been misunderstood by gram- 
marians. The difficulty of tracing the root in English consists, 

(1.) In its being hidden or concealed by the numerous syllables 
by which it is surrounded ; as i in transitoriness, die in dedicate. 

(2 ) In its being changed by euphonic laws ; as, frag in fragile, 
frangible, refract, infringe, break, breach, &c. ; leg in legible, collect. 

(3.) In its being modified in different languages ; as, German tod, 
English death. 

(4.) In the meaning being changed; as, Canvas, hemp, both con- 
nected with Latin cannabis ; hid and goat, both connected with Latin 
hadus ; host and guest, both connected with Latin hostis. 



DERIVATION. 



389 



(5.) In its involving, from the mixed character of our language, a 
knowledge of the euphonic laws severally of the Greek, Latin, Teu- 
tonic, and also the Sanscrit languages. 

LIST OF TEUTONIC ROOTS. 

§ 387. 1. Belonging to what may be called the first conjugation 
of the strongly inflected verbs : 1. bear ; 2. break ; 3. come ; 4. shear ; 
5. speak; 6. steal; 7. stick; 8. tear ; 9. wear; 10. weave. 

2. Belonging to the second conjugation: 1. bind; 2. climb; 3. 
cling ; 4 . delve ; 5 . dig ; 6 . drink ; 7 . fight ; 8 . find ; 9 . filing ; 10. gin 
(in begin); 11. grind; 12. help ; 13. melt; 14. ring; 15. run; 16. 
shrink; 17. smg-; 18. sink ; 19. sling; 20. slink; 21. s_pm; 22. 
spring ; 23. sting ; 24. stink; 25. string; 26. swell; 27. swim; 28. 
svnng ; 29. torn; 30. wind; 31. wring. 

3. Belonging to the third conjugation : 1. fo'd; 2. ea£ ; 3. g-e? ; 4. 
gwe; 5. knead; 6. Zze; 7. queath ; 8. see; 9. s«£; 10. spiY; 11. 
tread; also 12. fo'de; 13. 6zYe; 14. chide; 15. Aze?e; 16. nrfe ; 17. 
shite; 18. slide; 19. smite; 20. stride; 21. strike; 22. strive; 23. 
thrive; 24. write; 25. writhe. 

4. Belonging to the fourth conjugation: 1. choose; 2. cleave; 3. 
draw; 4. freight; 5. heave; 6. sake ; 7. shake; 8. shape ; 9. slay; 10„ 
stand; 11. stave; 12. swear; 13. wake; 14. wave; 15. wa#. 

5. Belonging to the fifth conjugation : 1. Jn'ue ; 2. m« ; 3. shine ; 
4. wz£. 

6. Belonging to the sixth conjugation: 1. oow; 2. fiee ; 3. fit/; 
A. hew; 5. flow; 6. grow; 7. freeze; 8. Zie; 9. /ye; 10. seethe; 11. 
show ; 12. strow; 13. swp or sop; 14. £wg\ 

7. Belonging to the seventh conjugation: 1. blow; 2. crow; 3., 
know; 4. mow; 5. snow; 6. sow; 7. throw. 

8. Belonging to the eighth conjugation : 1 . /a// ; 2. fang ; 3. fold ; 
4. /icmg- ; 5. AoM. 

9. Belonging to the mixed conjugation : 1. JnVig- ; 2. owy ; 3. catch : 
A. fetch ; 5. may ; 6. pitch; 7. reach; 8. see/fc ; 9. teach; 10. think: 
11. iw?r£. 

10. Monosyllabic verbs in d or t : Rid, shed, spread, bleed, breed, 
feed, lead, read, speed, burst, cast, cost, cut, hit, hurt, knit, let, put, set, 
shut, slit, split, spit, thrust, sweat, meet, shoot, light, bend, build, gird, 
lend, rend, send, spend, wend. 

1 1 . Many weakly inflected verbs ; as, Say, have, make, etc. 



390 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



III. TEUTONIC STEM-NOUNS. 

§ 388. Stem-nouns are to be referred in each case to a verbal root 
whether such root actually exists or not. They are formed some 
times with and sometimes without an internal change of vowel. 

1. Stem-adjectives, sometimes from known roots ; as, Blank, from 
to blink ; blind, from to blend ; wrong, from to wring ; and sometimes 
from unknown roots ; as, Much, long, fat. 

These adjectives are, for the most part, developed in antithetic 
pairs ; as, Great and small, high and low, thick and thin. 

2. Stem-substantives, sometimes from known roots ; as, Band, 
from to bind ; cake, from to cook ; doom, from to deem; and some- 
times from unknown roots ; as, Arm, heart, door. 

IV. TEUTONIC REDUPLICATE FORMS. 

§> 389. Reduplicate forms ; as, Chit-chat, from chat ; sing-song, horn, 
song ; see-saw, from to saw. 

1. Bibble-babble, idle talk, senseless prattle, from babble; 2. Chit- 
chat, idle or familiar talk, from chat ; 3. Ding-dong, the repetition of 
a stroke, the sound of a bell, from ding; 4. Dingle-dangle, a swing- 
ing or oscillating motion, from dangle ; 5. Fiddle-faddle, trifling, from 
fiddle ; 6. Flim-flam, a freak, a trick, horn, flam; 7. Gew-gaw, a baw- 
ble (comp. Fi.joujou, a plaything); 8. Gibble- gabble, noisy conver- 
sation, from gabble ; 9. Giffe-gaffe (comp. Anglo-Sax. gifan, to give) ; 
10. Knick-knack, a toy, from knack ; 11. Mish-mash, a medley, a heap 
of things thrown together, from mash; 12. Pit-a-pat, or apitpat, in a 
flutter, from pat ; 13. Prittle-prattle, idle talk, from prattle ; 14. Riff- 
raff, sweepings, refuse, from raff ; 15. See-saw, a vibratory motion, 
from to saw; 16. Shilly-shally, irresolution, probably from shall I ? 
17. Sing-song, bad singing, monotony, from song ; 18. Skimble-skam- 
ble, wandering, disorderly, from scamble ; 19. Slip-slop, bad liquor, 
from slop ; 20. Snip-snap, tart dialogue with quick replies, from snap, 
to answer quickly; 21. Tick-tack, the noise of a blacksmith's shop, 
also a game at tables, from tick ; 22. Tittle-tattle, empty babble, from 
tattle; 23. Twittle-twattle, idle talk, from twattle ; 24. Whim-wham, 
a freak, fancy, from whim; 25. Zigzag, with short turns or angles. 
A few others might be added ; as, click-clack, a plaything with which 
a clacking is made ; crincum-crancum, winding round, as a crooked 
path ; crick-crack, the noise of a thing cracking ; dilly-dally, to trifle 
away time ; mingle-mangle, a medley ; pintle-pantle , or pintledy-pan- 
iledy, in a flutter ; shim-sham, foolery. 



DERIVATION. 391 

Remarks on the preceding Words. 

I. These words are proper reduplicate forms. They are not com- 
pounded of two distinct words, but they are formed by iterating or 
repeating the same word. It is an error to suppose that each part 
of the composition has a distinct significancy. Yet S. Skinner would 
connect fiddle-faddle with Fr. fade or Lat. fatuus, foolish, as if the 
compound meant fiddle-foolish ; C. Richardson would connect chit- 
chat with chit, a child, as if the compound meant childish-chat ; and 
another distinguished philologist would connect see-saw with sea, as 
if the compound meant the sawing of the sea. 

II. The change of vowel evidently depends on a regular euphonic 
law. The short vowel in the first part is a preparation for the full- 
er sound in the second. This renders the whole word melodious 
and expressive. It is improper to call this change of vowel a cor- 
ruption, or to seek in it for any peculiar significancy. Yet Dr. John- 
son calls chit-chat a corruption of chat-chat; J.Thomson calls chit 
a diminutive of chat ; and Stoddart makes pit a diminutive of pat. 

III. These words illustrate an important formative principle in 
language. They are not formed by internal inflection, that is, by a 
change of vowel within the root itself; as band or bond from bind; 
nor by derivation, as bondage from bond ; nor by composition of two 
words, as bondman from bond and man ; but by a peculiar process. 
This principle in the formation of language has its natural place 
after internal inflection, and before derivation. 

IV. This mode of forming words, consisting in a mechanical repe- 
tition of the same sound, is naturally adapted to express (1.) the con- 
tinuous flow of conversation ; as, Bibble-babble, chit-chat, gibble-gab- 
ble, prittle-prattle, snip-snap, tittle-tattle, twittle-twattle ; (2.) other con- 
stant and repeated sounds ; as, Click-clack, crick-crack, ding-dong, 
sing-song, tick-tack; (3.) certain oscillatory motions; as, Crincum- 
crancum, dingle-dangle, pintle-pantle, pit-a-pat, see-saw, zig-zag; (4.) 
certain mental fluctuations or oscillations ; as, Dilly-dally, fiddle-fad- 
dle, fiim-fiam, gew-gaw, giffe-gaffe, knick-knack, shilly-shally, shim-sham, 
whim-wham; and (5.) some miscellaneous things involving the idea 
of repetition ; as, Mish-mash, mingle-mangle, riff-raff, skimble-skamble, 
slip-slop. 

V. These are favorite formations with most of the Gothic nations, 
particularly with the common people. Thus we have : 

Geim.fickfacken, to play tricks ; klingklang, a jingle ; mischmasch ; 
singsang ; schnickschnack, idle talk ; tick-tack, in a flutter ; wirrwarr, 
confusion ; wischwasch, idle talk ; zickzack . 



392 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Low Sax. fickfacken ; hinkhanken, to hobble about ; miskmask ; 
ticktacken, to touch gently and often ; tiesketauske ; titeltateln ; wib' 
belwabbeln ; wirrwarr, confusion ; zieskezaaske. 

Dan. miskmask ; sniksnak ; trictrac, a game at tables. 

Swed. miskmask ; sicks ack ; willerwalla, confusion. 

Scott, click-clack, uninterrupted loquacity (comp. Eng. clack, to let 
the tongue run) ; clish-clash, idle talk, from clash, idem ; clitter-clat- 
ter, idle talk, from clatter, idem ; Jiery-fary, bustle, confusion, from 
fiery or fary, idem ; jike-facks, humors, whims, from jike, to be in- 
constant ; fix-fax, hurry, perhaps from the same ; lig-lag, a confused 
noise of tongues, perhaps a softening of click-clack ; mixtie-maxtie,oi 
mixie-maxie, in a state of confusion ; niff-naffs, trifles ; nignayes, or 
nignyes, whims, trifles ; whiltie-whaltie, in a state of palpitation. 

Also, Fr. criccrac, noise of a thing cracking ; micmac, intrigues ; 
trictrac, a game at tables ; zigzag. 

VI. Besides these examples which have a play of vowels, produc- 
ing an alliteration, we have another class which have a play of con- 
sonants, producing a sort of rhyme ; as, Handy '-dandy, a play in which 
children change hands and places ; harum-scarum, or harum-starum, 
flighty ; higgledy-piggledy , confusedly ; hoddy-doddy, a foolish fellow ; 
hoity-toity, an interjection of surprise ; hugger-mugger, secretly ; hum- 
drum, a stupid fellow ; hurly-burly, confusion ; hurdy-gurdy, a kind 
of stringed instrument ; hurry-skurry, confusedly ; namby-pamby , 
having little affected prettinesses ; •pell-mell, confusedly ; pick-nick, a 
club in which each one contributes to the entertainment ; slang- 
whanger, a noisy talker of slang (according to Dr. Pickering, a recent 
Americanism) ; topsy-turvy, with the bottom upward. It is remark- 
able how a large proportion of these words begin with h. 

VII. So great has been the attachment to these two formations, 
that they have been sometimes adopted, much to the disfigurement 
of the original word ; as, Criss-cross for Chrisfs cross ; helter-skelter 
for the Latin phrase hilariter et celeriter; hocus-pocus for the Latin 
sentence hoc est corpus meum ; hodge-podge, or hotch-potch, for the 
French compound hoche-pot ; tag-rag for tag and rag ; whipper-snap- 
per for whip-snapper. 

V. TEUTONIC PRIMARY DERIVATIVES. 

§ 390. Primary derivatives are those which are derived imme- 
diately from the root or stem. They include, 

1 . Derivative verbs in cr, le, and en ; as, Chatter, a frequentative 
from to chat ; crackle, a diminutive from to crack ; harden, a factitive 
from hard. 



DERIVATION. 



393 



2. Derivative adjectives: 

(a) in en, from nouns, and forming hylonymic adjectives, or ad- 
jectives expressing the material of which any thing is made *, as, 
golden, earthen ; wooden, ashen ; oaten, wheaten ; waxen, woolen. 

(b) in em, from nouns, and denoting the point of the compass ; as, 
northern, southern, eastern, western. 

(c) in ey, the same as y ; as, clayey, wheyey. 

id) in ish, forming diminutives ; as, whitish, thievish ; also gentile 
adjectives ; as, English, Danish ; also more obscured ; as, French, 
Welsh, Dutch. Opposed to ly in womanish, childish. 

(e) in ed, the termination of participles ; as, winged. 

(f) in ful ; as, fearful. 

(g) in less, denoting loose, free ; as, fearless, thankless. 
(A) in some ; as, toilsome, tiresome, wholesome. 

(i) in ly, originally an adverbial termination ; as, goodly, manly. 

(j) in ward; as, backward, forward. 

(k) in y, from abstract nouns ; as, angry, worthy, lengthy, mighty, 
frosty ; from concrete nouns ; as, woody, bushy, muddy, sunny ; or 
from material nouns ; as, airy, fiery, sandy, earthy, watery, bloody, 
hairy, dusty ; also any. 

3. Derivative adverbs : 

(a) in ly ( — like), forming adverbs expressing the manner of an 
action, attached to abstract substantives and to adjectives ; as, He 
gives freely ; he speaks wrongly. This is the prevalent use of this 
suffix in English. 

Note. — This suffix is attached also to concrete substantives, and 
thus forms adjectives ; but such adjectives are used, for the most 
part, attributively, seldom predicatively ; as, a daily publication ; 
manly conduct. 

{b) in s, forming a sort of adverbial genitive ; as, needs, unawares. 

4. Derivative concrete substantives : 

(a) in er, denoting the personal agent, or active male subject, as 
opposed to the female; as, widower, gander, murderer ; or the per- 
sonal subject generally; as, lover, hater ; also animals; as, ambler, 
hunter ; or the instrumental subject ; as, boiler, cleaver ; also gunner ; 
also gentile nouns ; as, Hamburger, burgher. 

(b) in ard ; as, drunkard, dullard. 

(c) in ine ; as, margravine. 

{d) in kin ; as, lambkin, firkin. 

(e) in ling ; as, fondling, darling, stripling, suckling, seedling, change- 
ling, duckling. 

(f) in ock ; as, hillock. 



394 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

5. Derivative abstract substantives in ing, th, dom, ness, hood, head, 
ric, ship, cry. 

(a) The suffix ing (Anglo-Saxon ung, German ung), annexed to 
verbs, denotes the action expressed by the verb ; as, " In preachmo- 
Christ," " in the preachy of Christ ;" but has also taken the place 
of the present active participle ; as, " A man fearmo- God." 

(b) The suffix th (Dutch te), annexed to adjectives, denotes the 
quality ; as, breadth, depth ; drought, height. 

(c) The suffix dom (Anglo-Saxon dom, German thum), annexed to 
adjectives or attributives, denotes (1.) the quality ; as, wisdom; (2.) 
an act; as, cuckoldom ; (3.) a state; as, freedom; (4.) a condition; 
as, birthdom ; (5.) appurtenances or possession ; as, princedom ; and 
(6.) the collective concrete; as, Christendom. 

(d) The suffix ness (Anglo-Saxon nes, nis, nys, German niss), an- 
nexed to adjectives, denotes the abstract quality ; as, goodness, hard- 
ness; and occasionally something possessing the quality ; as, fastness. 

(c) The suffix hood or head (Anglo-Saxon had, German heit, keit), 
annexed to adjectives and attributives, denotes (1.) the nature or es- 
sence ; as, godhead ; (2.) the quality ; as, hardihood ; (3.) the state; 
as, boyhood; (4.) the condition ; as, knighthood ; (5.) something pos- 
sessing the quality; as, falsehood ; (6.) the collective concrete; as, 
sisterhood ; and (7.) the means ; as, livelihood. 

(f) The suffix ric, annexed to attributives, denotes the state or 
condition ; as, bishopric. 

(g) The suffix ship or scape (Anglo-Saxon sceaft, scype, scipe, Ger- 
man schaft), annexed to attributives, denotes (1 .) the state ; as, friend- 
ship ; (2.) an act; as, courtship; (3.) the condition; as, wardship; 
(4.) appurtenances or possession; as, lordship; and (5.) the effect; 
as, workmanship. 

(h) The suffix ery denotes the employment ; as, brewery, grocery. 

VI. TEUTONIC SECONDARY DERIVATIVES. 

Secondary derivatives are derivatives from other derivatives ; as, 
fearfully, fearfulness, fearlessly, fearlessness, tiredness, learnedly, way* 
wardness, westwardly, tiresomeness. 

VII. TEUTONIC WORDS WITH PREFIXES. 

$ 391. Derivation of Words, or the formation of words by in- 
ternal change of vowel and by suffixes, gives us different forms of 
ideas ; as, Drink (noun), drinker, drinking (participle), drinking (noun), 
drench, all forms or modifications of the radical idea to drink. 

Composition, or the combination of two words, each expressing a 



DERIVATION. 395 

distinct idea, so as to form one word expressing one idea, is a devel- 
opment of the species from the genus, and gives us different species 
of ideas ; as, School-house, state-house, alms-house, all species under 
the general term house. This process is especially adapted to form 
substantives. 

The formation of words by prefixes, that is, by particles denoting, 
not distinct ideas, but merely relations, is also a development of the 
species from the genus, and gives us different species of ideas ; as, 
Forego, outgo, overgo, undergo, all species under the general term to 
go; and in words derived from the Latin, Attend, contend, intend, pre- 
tend, subtend, all species under the general term to tend. But this 
process is especially adapted to form verbs and verbal derivatives. 

The prefix is usually a particle denoting motion, or, rather, the 
direction of motion. The verb also expresses motion, or is so con- 
ceived by the mind. Hence the prefix renders the meaning of the 
verb more specific by giving the direction of the motion. 

The formation of words by prefixes is an ancient process in lan- 
guage. It was extensively employed in Gothic and Anglo-Saxon, 
the ancient languages whence the Teutonic portion of our own tongue 
is derived. In the English language it has ceased to be an active 
living principle. Compound verbs of Teutonic origin, in the ordi- 
nary cases where the prefix retains its primary local signification, 
have been disused, and the prefix employed separately after the 
verb. Thus we now have to give in, to give over, to give out, to give 
up, as species under the general term to give. 

The few cases in which such compound words have been retained 
in English are the following : 

1. Where the force of the prefix is entirely lost ; as, Arise, awake. 

2. Where the meaning of the prefix is not obvious ; as, Answer, 
begin, forsake, withstand, upbraid. 

3. Where the prefix has lost its local meaning, and acquired a 
metaphorical one ; as, Outbid, uphold, overdo, underbid, forego, bemoan, 
begird, becharm, forgive, forswear. 

4. Where the prefix denotes time ; as, Outlive, overlive, foresee. 

5. Where the prefix has an unusual physical meaning ; as, Over- 
take, overturn, withstand. 

6. Where the retraction of the accent in certain verbal derivatives 
has preserved the word from being lost ; as, Offset, income, outcast, 
upstart, downfall, overfall, undershot, fore-named, by-gone. 

7. A few other verbs, mostly obsolescent ; as, Inbreed, infold, out- 
bud, outbar, gainstand, gainsay . 

The difference between these compounds and the use of a sepa- 
rate particle may be illustrated by comparing inhold with hold in, 



396 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

outrun with run out, uphold with hold up, overthrow with throw over, 
understand with stand under, forego with go before, backslide with 
slide back, withhold with hold vnth. 

This subject of the disuse of Teutonic suffixes I propose to illus- 
trate more fully by taking up the several Teutonic particles of place 
in their order, and following them down from the Gothic and An- 
glo-Saxon, the ancient languages whence the Teutonic portion of 
our own tongue is derived. 

To ; as, Gothic duginnan, to begin ; durinnan, to run to ; duvakan, 
to watch unto ; Anglo-Saxon toberan, to bear to ; tobrecan, to break 
in pieces ; tocum-an, to come to ; tosprecan, to speak to. This prefix 
can not be used in English before verbs, as it would be confounded 
with to, the sign of the infinitive. It remains only in toward (adjec- 
tive or adverb), with accent retracted. 

At, another form of the particle to ; as, Gothic atbairan, to bring 
or to offer ; atgaggan, to go to ; atrinnan, to run to ; Anglo-Saxon 
(Btberan, to show ; cetspurnan, to spurn at ; (Btsittan, to sit by. There 
is no compound word in English with this prefix. It must not be 
confounded with at in verbs of Latin origin ; as, Attain, attempt, at- 
tend; or in words of French origin; as, Attach, attack. 

Of, the opposite of to, and denoting from ; as, Gothic ofgaggan, to 
go out or depart ; afletan, to put away ; afstandan, to depart ; An- 
glo-Saxon ofbeatan, to beat off; ofcuman, to come forth or proceed ; 
ofdrifan, to drive off; ofsettan, to set off. The only compounds re- 
maining in English are verbal derivatives with the accent drawn 
back (which retraction of the accent has preserved the word from 
being lost) ; as, Offset, offshoot, offspring, offscouring. "With offset, 
compare set off. 

From, a more modern form than of, but with the same force ; as, 
Gothic fragiban, to forgive ; fraletan, to dismiss ; Anglo-Saxon/W?m- 
cuman, to be rejected. No example remains in English except ad- 
jective froward (for fromward), with the accent drawn back. 

In; as, Gothic insaian, to sow in; insaiwan, to look on; Anglo- 
Saxon inbryan, to bring in ; infaran, to go in ; incuman, to come in. 
In English only in doubtful or obsolescent forms ; as, Inbreathe, in- 
breed, inhold, infold ; and in verbals with accent drawn back ; as, 
Income, inborn, inbred. For the difference of meaning, compare in- 
hold with hold in. 

On, probably another form of the particle in ; as, Gothic anagag- 
gan, to come on ; anadrigkan, to drink on ; anaquiman, to come upon ; 
Anglo-Saxon onbitan, to taste of; onbrican, to break in ; ongangan, 
to enter in. In English only in verbals with accent drawn back ; 
as, Onset, onslaught. 



DERIVATION. 397 

Out; as, Gothic usbairan, to bring forth; usgaggan, to go out; 
usgiban, to render; Anglo-Saxon utdragan, to drag out; utgan, to go 
out ; utlcetan, to let out. In English only where the particle has a 
metaphorical or unusual sense ; as, Outbid, outblush, outbreathe, out- 
build, outburn, outdo, outrun ; also outbar, outbud ; and in some verb- 
als with accent drawn back , as, Outbound, outborn, outcast. For 
the difference of meaning, compare outgo with go out ; outstand, to 
stand beyond the proper time, with to stand out, to proj.ect. 

Up ; as, Gothic ufbrikan, to reject ; ufgairdan, to gird up ; Anglo- 
Saxon upcuman, to come up ; upfaran, to go up. In English in some 
obsolescent verbs ; as, Upbear, upblow, updraw, upheave ; also, when 
the prefix has a metaphorical sense; as, Upbraid, uphold; and in 
verbals with accent drawn back ; as, Upstart, uprising, upright. For 
the difference of meaning, compare uphold with hold up. 

Down, in some verbs; as, Down-bear ; and more verbals; as, 
Downcast, downfall, downlooked, downtrod. 

Over ; as, Gothic ufargaggan, to go over or transgress ; ufarlagjan, 
to lay upon ; ufarsteigan, to come up ; Anglo-Saxon oferbr&dan, to 
cover over ; oferbringan, to bring over ; ofercliman, to climb over ; 
ofercuman, to overcome ; oferdon, to overdo. In English only where 
the particle has a metaphorical or unusual sense ; as, Overawe, over- 
bear, overbend, overbid, overgo, overflow, overdo, oversee, overtake. Com- 
pare overturn with turn over, overthrow with throw over. 

Under; as, Anglo-Saxon underberan, to support; underbr&dan, to 
underspread ; under cuman, to come under ; under don, to put under % 
undergan, to undergo. In English where the particle has a meta- 
phorical or unusual meaning ; as, Underbear, underbid, underdo, un- 
dergo, undersell, undertake. Compare understand with stand under. 

Fore ; as, Gothic fauragaggan, to go before ; fauraquiman, to go 
before ; faurastandan, to stand by ; Anglo-Saxon forebeon, to be be- 
fore ; forecuman, to come before ; foregan, to go before. In English 
only where the particle refers to time, or has some unusual signifi- 
cation ; as, Forearm, forebode, forecast, foreknow, foresee, forethink, 
foretell, forego, forenamed. 

After ; as, Gothic afargaggan, to follow ; Anglo-Saxon aftercwcB- 
dhan, to speak after ; afterridan, to ride after. In English only in 
verbals with accent drawn back; as, After-cost, after-crop, after-piece. 

Back, a later form for after or behind; as, Anglo-Saxon bcecberan, 
to take on the back. In English only in backbite, backslide, back* 
wound. 

By and be ; as, Gothic bigitan, to find ; biquiman, to come upon ; 
birinnan, to run by ; Anglo-Saxon becwedhan, to bequeath ; beginnan 



398 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

to begin ; begyrdan, to begird. In English only where the import 
of the prefix is not obvious ; as, Behead, become ; or where the ac- 
cent is drawn back ; as, By-gone, by-past. 

For, in the sense of forth or away ; as, Anglo-Saxon forsendan, to 
send forth or away ; forgifan, to forgive ; forswerian, to forswear. 
In English in forbid, forgive, forswear. 

Gain, in the sense of against ; as, Anglo-Saxon geonberan, to op- 
pose. In English in gainsay ; also, gamgive, gainstand, gainstrive. 

With ; as, Anglo-Saxon wi^lcedan, to lead away ; wislecgan, to 
lay against ; wisgan, to go against. In English only in withdraw, 
withhold, withstand. 

VIII. THE FORMATION OF COMPOUND WORDS. 

§ 393. 1. Composition, or the formation of compound words, is a 
special mode of forming new words and developing new ideas. 

2. Composition, considered externally, is the combination of two 
words expressing distinct ideas, so as to form one word expressing 
one idea. The word thus formed is called a compound. This defi- 
nition is sufficient for the merely practical grammarian. 

3. Composition, considered in its internal nature, is, like many 
other linguistical processes, a development of the species from the 
genus ; that is, the name of the genus, as boat, by prefixing the spe- 
cific difference, as steam (i. e., moved by steam), now denotes the 
species, as steam-boat. This is the more philosophical definition. 

4. In reference to the mental process in'composition just described, 
the compound consists of two parts, viz., the general, or that which 
denotes the genus ; and the special, or that which denotes the spe- 
cific difference. The latter, which is the leading member of the 
composition, usually precedes, and has the tone or accent. 

5. The unity of the word consists in the tone or accent, which 
binds together the two parts of the composition. The mere orthog- 
raphy is an uncertain criterion, being sometimes entirely arbitrary. 

6. The unity of the idea consists in its referring to a specific thing 
well known as having a permanent existence. 

7. Every composition is binary, or every compound consists prop- 
erly of only two members, although these may themselves be com- 
pounded. Compare household -stuff, deputy -quarter -master -general, 
which must be analyzed conformably to this principle. The most 
plausible exception is Latin suovitaurus (whence suovitaurilia), " a 
swine, sheep, and bull." 

8. Composition is an original process in language, distinct, on the 
one hand, from derivation, that is, the formation of words by inter- 



DERIVATION. 399 

nal change of vowel and by suffixes, and, on the other, from the 
mere syntactical combination of ideas. 

9. Composition differs essentially from the formation of words by 
internal change of vowel and by suffixes, in this, that derivation 
gives us different forms of ideas ; as, Drink (noun), drinker, drink- 
ing (noun), to drench, all forms or modifications of the radical idea 
to drink; to set, to settle, sitter, setter, seat, sitting (noun), all from 
the radical idea to sit ; while composition gives us species of idea ; 
as, School-house, state-house, alms-house, all species under the general 
term house ; door-key, chest-key, watch-key, species of keys. 

10. As a mode of forming words, composition is later in its origin 
than derivation, and has arisen from the inadequacy of derivation to 
express the definite ideas which become necessary in language. 
Thus mere derivation would be insufficient to express the different 
kinds of keys ; as, Door-key, chest-key, watch-key ; or the different 
kinds of glasses ; as, Beer-glass, wine-glass, etc. 

11. Notwithstanding which, there is some common ground for der- 
ivation and composition, and the two forms may alternate. In such 
a case the derivative is the most forcible, and the compound is the 
most precise in its import. Thus we have in English (neglecting 
accidental differences of usage) hunter and huntsman, speaker and 
spokesman, trader and tradesman, plower and plowman, hatter and hat- 
maker, steamer and steam-boat, bakery and bake-house, brewery and 
brew-house, patchery and patch-work, treasury and treasure-house, deem- 
ster and domesman; so also where the words are radically distinct; 
as, Fowler and bird-catcher, Hollander and Dutchman, journal and day- 
book, marine and seaman, navigating and seafaring, propitiatory and 
mercy -seat, vintage and grape-gathering, vintner and wine-seller. These 
coincidences take place only when the second part of the compound 
is a very general or indefinite term, or has become so by use. In 
this way words originally compound acquire much of the character 
of derivatives. 

12. Composition differs, also, from the mere syntactical combina- 
tion of ideas. Composition is a development of words for constant, 
not merely for occasional use. It is not an arbitrary process in lan- 
guage, or a process to be adopted at pleasure. A proper compound 
must express a specific idea formed for permanent use in the lan- 
guage. Wherever it takes place, there should be an adequate cause 
or occasion. Not every combination of two ideas into one is prop- 
erly expressed by a compound. Ideas combined at the moment of 
speaking or writing, for the first time, do not form compound words. 
It is owing to this principle that we have death-wound, not life- 



400 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

wound; father-land, not son-land ; fox-hunter, not sheep-hunter ; earth- 
quake, not sea-quake ; brown bread, not fresh bread; sea-sick, not ter- 
ror-sick, because the latter terms of these couplets are not called 
for. 

13. The difference between the compound word and the mere 
syntactical construction may be seen, 

(1.) By comparing black-bird, a species of bird, with a black bird; 
so red-bird, black-berry , mad-house. 

(2.) By comparing fox-tail, a plant so named from resemblance, 
with the tail of a fox ; so beards-ear, goaV s-beard, lady's-finger. 

(3.) By comparing rat's-bane, a substance so called from its na- 
ture, with the bane of a rat ; so catch-fly, king's-evil, liver-wort. 

14. The unity of the compound is further evident by considering, 
(1.) That in many words the members of the composition do not 

appear at first view, nor are they generally understood ; as, Biscuit, 
curfew, daisy, kerchief, quinsy, squirrel, surgeon, verdict, vinegar. 

(2.) That in many words the meaning has so altered that the 
reason of the composition is not obvious ; as, Frankincense, holiday, 
landlord, mildew, quicksand, quicksilver, pastime, privilege, Sunday, 
vouchsafe. 

(3.) That compounds may often be expressed by simple words, 
either in the same or another language ; as, Brimstone, sulphur ; 
May-bug, a chaffer ; toine-glass, a tumbler ; sheep-fold, Latin ovile ; 
vine-yard, Latin vinea ; foot-man, Latin pedes ; oak-grove, Latin quer- 
cetum ; dove-house, Latin columbarium. 

TEUTONIC COMPOUNDS. 

§ 394. Compound words in English, as distinguished from deriva- 
tives, have received comparatively but little attention ; yet, from 
the great variety of the component parts, and the different relations 
in which they stand to each other, it is evident that these words 
deserve a more minute investigation. 

Composition is the union of two independent words in order to 
form one. This union may be more or less complete. 

I. Imperfect Composition. — When the two words denote distinct 
attributes of one and the same object, and their syntactical connec- 
tion may be expressed by the simple conjunction and, the composi- 
tion is then incomplete or imperfect. Of this nature are, 

1. The union of two common names ; as, God-man, God and man 
(compare Gr. ■&edvdpo)uog ; Germ, furst-bischof prince and bishop ; 
butter-brot, bread and butter ; mann-weib, man and woman). 

2. The union of two adjectives ; as, Deaf-mute ; deaf and mute 



DERIVATION. 401 

(compare Germ, taub-stumm, Fr. sourd-muet) ; first-last, first and last 
(used by Young). 

3. The union of two numerals ; as, Fourteen, four and ten (comp. 
Lat. quatuordecim). 

4. The union of two synonymous or nearly synonymous words ; as, 
Hap-hazard, hap and hazard (comp. Germ, ehrfurcht, honor and fear). 

"Words of Teutonic origin, of this class, divide the accent or tone 
between the two parts of the compound; as, God-man; while those 
of Latin origin follow the analogy of English words ; as, Hermaphro- 
dite. 

That the two words are united in one is evident from the fact 
that the latter part only of the compound is capable of change by in- 
flection or derivation ; as, genitive God-man's, plural deaf-mutes, de- 
rivative ordinal fourteenth, etc. 

II. Perfect Composition. — "When the two words form one complex 
idea, then the composition is complete or perfect. Of this there are 
two kinds : 

1. When the two parts of the compound are in apposition or con- 
cord with each other. Here may be included, 

(1.) The union of two common names ; as, Foe-man. 

(2.) The union of the species and genus ; as, Oak-tree. 

(3.) The union of a proper name and the genus; as, Flint River. 

(4.) The union of two proper names ; as, Charles Richards. 

2. When one part of the compound stands in rection, or govern- 
ment, in reference to the other, the latter part of the composition 
expressing the principal or generic idea, and the former part some 
modification thereof ; as, Snow-white, steam-boat. 

The modifications to be expressed by the former part of the com- 
position are very numerous, and may conveniently be arranged as 
cases are in our most scientific grammars : 

(1.) Where the first term expresses the nominative case, or the 
relation of the subject; as, Cock-crowing, the. time at which cocks 
crow ; slave-born (compare Anglo-Saxon theowboren), born a slave. 

(2.) Where the first term expresses the dative case, or the case 
of participation ; as, Head-band, a band for the head ; tea-cup, a cup 
for tea ; fire-brick, a brick that will endure the fire ; fire-proof secure 
against fire. 

(3.) Where the first term expresses the accusative case, or the re- 
lation of the object ; as, Shoe-maker, one that makes shoes ; wine- 
bibber, one that drinks much wine ; time-keeper, a machine that 
keeps time. 

(4.) Where the first term expresses the modal case, or the rela- 

Cc 



402 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

tion of the mode or manner ; as, Stone-blind, blind as a stone j snow- 
white, white like snow ; snow-whiteness, whiteness like snow ; brand- 
new, new like a brand. 

(5.) "Where the first term expresses the ablative case, or the rela- 
tion of the place whence ; as, Land-breeze, a breeze from the land ; 
straw bed, a bed made of straw ; blood-guilty, guilty from blood or 
bloodshed ; blood-guiltiness, guiltiness from bloodshed ; toll-free, free 
from toll ; careless, loose or free from care. 

(6.) Where the first term expresses the locative case, or the rela- 
tion of the place where ; as, Land-force, a force serving on land ; 
homespun, spun at home ; night-dew, dew that falls by night ; woe- 
begone, lost in woe. 

(7.) "Where the first term expresses the terminal case, or the re- 
lation of the terminus ad quern ; as, Ground-bait, bait for fish which 
sinks to the bottom ; home-speaking, forcible and efficacious speak- 
ing ; ten-foot-pole, a pole ten feet in length. 

(8.) "Where the first term expresses the instrumental case, or the 
relation of the place by or through which ; as, Way-laid, watched 
by the way ; steam-boat, a boat moving by steam ; wind-mill, a mill 
turned by the wind ; moth-eaten, eaten by moths ; careful, full of care. 

The same compound may sometimes belong to two classes ; as, 
Horse-boat, a boat for conveying horses, see No. (2.); also, a boat 
moved by horses, see No. (8.). 

3. The first word has the form of the genitive case : 

(1.) In some names of plants ; as, Beards-ear, bear's-foot, beards- 
wort, cafs-foot, cafs-head, goafs-beard, goafs-rue, goafs-thorn, hound* s- 
tongue, lady' s-bower , lady's-comb, lady' s-cushion, lady' s-fnger , lady's- 
mantle, lady's-seal, lady's- slipper, lady' s-br aces ^ Turk's-cap, Turk's- 
head, Turk's-turban, etc. 

(2.) In some names of minerals ; as, Cafs-eye, rafs-bane. 

(3.) In some nautical terms ; as, Cafs-paw. 

(4.) In some miscellaneous examples ; as, Day's-man, king's evil, 
kinsfolk, kinsman, kinswoman, spokesman. 

Sometimes these compounds contain the remains of ancient cases: 
(1.) of the genitive; as, Aqueduct, from Latin aqua ductus, a con- 
veyance of water; (2.) of the dative ; as, Deodand, from Latin Deo 
dandum, a thing forfeited to God ; (3.) of the ablative ; as, Vicege- 
rent, from Latin vice gerens, acting by substitution ; manumission, 
from Latin manu missio, a setting free ; locomotive, from Latin loco 
motivus, changing its place; (4.) of the locative; us, Nightingale, 
from Teutonic nachtigall, a bird that sings in the night ; (5.) of the 
genitive plural ; as, Triumvir, from Latin trium vir, a man of three. 



DERIVATION. 403 

As the first part of the compound modifies the second, it is easy 
to distinguish between bean-pole, a pole for beans, and pole-bean, a 
bean that grows around poles ; work-house, a house for work, and 
house-work, work done in a house ; freight-ship, a ship for freight, 
and ship-freight, the freight carried by a ship ; flower-garden, a gar- 
den for flowers, and garden-flower, a flower growing in a garden ; 
book-shop, a shop for books, and shop-book, an account-book ; man- 
kind, the kind or race of man, and kinman, a man of the same race 
or family ; chestnut-horse, a horse of the color of a chestnut, and 
horse-chestnut, a large nut ; compare Anglo-Saxon theow-weorc, slave- 
work, and weorc-theow, work-slave. 

Sometimes, when the two terms are in apposition, the parts of 
the compound may be inverted without an essential change in the 
meaning ; as, Servant-woman and woman-servant ; English hornpipe 
and Welsh pibcorn ; Anglo-Saxon beot-word and word-beot ; German 
raub-mord and mord-raub ; sturm-wind and wind-sturm. 

III. Inverted Composition. — There is a class of compound words 
deserving some attention, in which the order of the terms is invert- 
ed ; as, Breakfast (compare Anglo-Saxon fcestenbryce, fast-breach, 
with the parts of the compound in the natural order) ; break-prom- 
ise (an obsolete word, for which we now use promise-breaker) ; break- 
stone (obsolete, now stone-break, compare Latin saxifragum) ; pick- 
tooth (or, more commonly, tooth-pick or tooth-picker), This class in- 
cludes, 

1. Words peculiar to the English language : 

(1.) Trivial names in botany and zoology ; as, Break-stone (obso- 
lete) ; catch-fy, cut-water, turn-stone, wagtail. 

(2.) Marine terms; as, Break-water, cut-water. 

(3.) Terms used by printers ; as, Catch-word. 

(4.) Words of reproach ; as, Break-promise (obsolete), break-vow 
(obsolete), catch-poll, cut-purse, cut-throat, hang-dog (obsolete), kill- 
buck (obsolete), kill-cow (obsolete), pick-lock, pick-fault (obsolete), 
pickpocket, pickpurse, pick-quarrel (obsolete), pickthank, scape-gallows, 
scapethrift (obsolete), scare-crow, smellfeast, spendthrift, telltale, turn- 
coat, turnspit, toss-pot, want-wit. 

(5.) Miscellaneous words ; as, Breakfast (probably used at first to 
denote a trivial meal), catch-penny, pick-tooth. 

It is easily seen that there is one character pervading this sort of 
words. 

2. Words derived from the French which are more dignified ; as, 
Pastime, port-crayon, port-folio, port-glave, portmanteau, wardrobe ; 
also, hotchpot. 



404 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



IX. DISGUISED TEUTONIC DERIVATIVES AND COM- 
POUNDS. 

§ 395. Derivatives and compounds in English, as in other lan- 
guages, are usually formed on regular principles. Some few of 
them, however, especially those coming into extensive use, are so 
corrupted or disguised as greatly to obscure their origin. 

Examples. — 1. Atone, literally to be, or cause to be, at one, com- 
pounded of at and one. Compare Latin aduno, to unite. 

This origin of the word atone is obscured only in the pronuncia- 
tion. The numeral has the same sourti as in the derivative only. 

This explanation of the word atone is confirmed historically by 
extracts like the following from the old writers : 

" If gentilmen, or other of that contree, 
Were wroth, she wolde bringen hem at on, 
So wise and ripe wordes hadde she." — Chaucer. 

" But also [it is required] that thou be fervent and diligent to 
make peace and to go betwene, where thou knowest or hearest mal- 
ice and envie to be, or seest hate or strife to arise between person 
and person, and that thou leave nothing unsought to set them at 
one." — Tyndall. 

•'And lyke as he made the Jewes and the gentiles at one he-twene 
themselves, even so he made them both at one with God, that there 
should be nothing to breake the atonement, but that the thynges in 
heaven and the thynges in earth shoulde be joyned together, as it 
were, into one body." — Udal. 

" Ye witlesse gallants, I beshrew your hearts, 
That set such discord 'twixt agreeing parts, 
Which never can be set at onement more 
Until the maw's wide mouth be stopped with store." 

Bishop Hall. 

" The Hebrew kaphar signifies to appease, to pacify, to reconcile 
a person offended, to atone or make him at one again with the offend- 
er." — Bishop Beveridge. 

2. Daisy (Anglo-Saxon dages eage, day's eye, compounded of 
d&ges, day's, and eage, eye), the name of a spring flower, as if the 
eye of the day. 

3. Not (Old German niowiht, compounded oine and awiht ; Anglo- 
Saxon nawht, compounded of ne and awht), a particle expressing ne- 
gation, denial, or refusal ; the same word as naught or nought, com- 
pounded of ne, not, and aught, any thing. 



DERIVATION. 405 

CLASSICAL ELEMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

§ 396. The following statements on this subject are deemed im- 
portant : 

1 . The separation between Gothic or Teutonic and Classic words 
needs to be made with great discrimination. 

Thus wade and waddle are of Teutonic origin (compare Anglo-Sax- 
on wadan, German waten and watscheln), and not to be derived from 
Latin vado. 

Drag is of Teutonic origin (compare Anglo-Saxon dragan, German 
tragen), and not from Latin traJio. 

Long, length, and linger, are of Teutonic origin (compare Moeso- 
Gothic laggs, Anglo-Saxon lang, leng$, German lang), and not from 
Latin longus. 

Meager is of Teutonic origin (compare Anglo-Saxon mceger, German 
mager), and not from Latin macer. The orthography meager seems, 
however, to have been affected by the French form maigre, which 
perhaps is of Teutonic origin. 

Rank and rankle are of Teutonic origin (compare Anglo-Saxon 
ranc, German ranzig), and not from Latin ranceo. 

2. The cognate roots in Latin and Teutonic, when they coexist in 
the English language, need to be noticed. 

Thus, Latin -y/ vad, whence come invade, invader, invasive, inva- 
sion ; and Anglo-Saxon -y/ wade, whence come wader, wading, waddle, 

Latin -y/ volv, whence come revolve, revolution, revolt, voluble, vol- 
ume, volute, volt, valve ; and Anglo-Saxon -y/ wealw, whence come 
wallow, wallower, wallowing. 

Latin -y/ trah, whence come trace, track, tract, trait, attract, attra- 
hent, attractive, portray ; and Anglo-Saxon -y/ drag, whence come 
drag, draw, draggle. 

This point is the more important, as, out of two hundred Latin 
roots involved in English words, more than one third are cognate to 
roots already existing in the Teutonic portion of our language. The 
cognation in stem-nouns is probably not so great. 

3. Words of Latin and words of Greek origin should be distin- 
guished from each other. This separation often requires nice dis- 
crimination. Thus, aerology and aeronaut are from the Greek aer 
and aerial and aeriform are from the Latin aer. 

4. The cognate roots of the Latin and Greek languages, when 
they coexist in the English language, need to be noticed. Thus, 
Greek -y/ ag, whence paragoge, and Latin -y/ ag, whence agent ; 
Greek -y/ aph, whence apsis, and Latin -yf ap, whence apt , Greek 



406 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

-y/ aug, whence auxesis, and Latin -y/ aug, whence augment; Greek 
■yj klin, whence clinic, and Latin -y/ clin, whence incline; Greek •%/ 
kri, whence crisis, and Latin root ere, whence secret ; Greek -y/ gen, 
whence genesis, and Latin -y/ gen, whence general ; Greek -y/ gno, 
whence gnosis, and Latin -y/ gno, whence ignorant. 

5. The corresponding forms of Greek and Latin prefixes should 
be noticed. Thus, Greek a?i=Latin in (negative) ; Greek anti= 
Latin ante ; Greek apo=zli3itin ab ; Greek dia— Latin dis ; Greek ec 
=Latin e or ex; Greek era=:Latin in. 

6. The corresponding forms of Greek and Latin suffixes should 
be noticed. Thus, Greek icos=zL&tin icus ; Greek 6?i= Latin ens ; 
Greek tosz=.L&tin tus. 

7. The difference of the union-vowel in Latin and in Greek com- 
pounds should be attended to. Thus, aer-i-form and agr-i-culture 
come from the Latin, and aer-o-naut and phil-o-sophy from the Greek. 

8. The distinction between stem-words and derivatives from the 
same root should be noticed. Thus, toga is a stem-word, and tegu- 
ment a derivative from Latin -y/ teg. 

9. The distinction between primary derivatives and secondary de- 
rivatives from the same root should be noticed. Thus, agile is a prim- 
itive derivative, and agility a secondary derivative from Latin -y/ ag. 

10. The mutilated or disguised Latin forms should be noted, and 
referred to their regular forms. Thus, boil should be referred to the 
-y/ bull, in ebullition ; noy to the -yj noc, in innocent ; cay, in decay, to 
the -y/ cad, in decadence. 

11. The combination of Latin and Teutonic words to make one 
family should be noticed. Thus, length from the Anglo-Saxon, and 
longitude from the Latin, are so combined ; also, son from the Anglo- 
Saxon, and filial from the Latin. 

12. Greek words which have come down to us from the Teutonic 
should be distinguished from others. Such words are alms, bishop, 
devil, priest. 

13. Latin words which have come down to us through the Anglo- 
Saxon should be distinguished from others. Such words are ark, 
candle, chalice, etc. 

The best mode of exhibiting these things, in the common manu- 
als, to the mind of the pupil, is still a desideratum. 

NATURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE LATIN PORTION 
OF OUR LANGUAGE. 

^ 397. The natural development of the Latin language, so far as the 
Latin portion of our tongue is concerned, has been nearly as follows : 



DERIVATION. 407 

I. Stem-verbs, or roots, originally denoting physical action or mo- 
tion ; as, Bib, carp, cede, fend, lave, merge, move, plague s probe, sculp, 

'tend, tinge, urge, verge, vex. 

Most of the verbs here concerned appear in English only in deriv- 
atives and compounds. To these, in accordance with the practice 
of European philologists, we prefix the mathematical surd sign -\/ ; 
as, -y/ i, "to go;" -\/ sta, "to stand;" -y/ ag, "to drive;" -\/ due, 
" to lead ;" V frag, " to break." 

II. Stem-adjectives, to be referred in each case to a verbal root, 
whether such root actually exists or not ; as, Bland, brute ; brev, 
"short," cec, "blind." * 

III. Stem-substantives, to be referred in each case to a verbal 
root, whether such root actually exists or not ; as, Arc, barb ; can, 
"dog,"c^, "food." 

IV. Primary derivatives, or derivatives from the root or stem by 
means of a single suffix; as, Act, final, factor, justice. 

V. Secondary derivatives ; as, Tolerable, moderate. 

VI. Derivative words with prefixes ; as, Abrade, allude. 

VII. Compound words ; as, Leopard, decemvir, privilege^ satisfy, 
solstice, cisalpine, republic. 

To these we may add, 

I. Romanic stem-verbs or roots. 

II. Romanic stem-adjectives. 

III. Romanic stem-substantives. 

IV. Romanic derivative words with suffixes. 

V. Romanic derivative words with prefixes. 

VI. Romanic compounds. 

VII. Disguised Romanic derivatives and compounds. 

I. LATIN ROOTS. 

§ 398. The Latin root in English is often hidden or concealed by 
the numerous syllables by which it is surrounded ; as, -y/ i in transi- 
toriness ; -\/ die in dedicate. 

Latin roots in English are often modified by the following pro- 
cesses, which all deserve attention : 

1. A root ending in a single consonant usually assumes, in be- 
coming a word, a silent e; as, Imbibe, produce, deride, convene, move. 
Sometimes it assumes mute ue ; as, Plague. 

So in some roots ending with a double consonant ; as, Infringe. 

2. The root sometimes assumes an infinitive termination t, which 
Is derived from turn, the termination of the supine or ancient infini- 
tive form in Latin ; as, diet in predict, from -y/ die. 

3. The root often assumes an epenthetic n; as, Frang in frangi- 
ble, from ^ frag. 



408 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

4. The root often changes its vowel. 

Thus the radical vowel a, when preceded by a prefix, is changed 
into i in an open, and into e in a close syllable ; as, Agent, exigent, 
from y ag ; facile, deficient, defect, from y fac. 

The radical vowel a, when preceded by a prefix, is sometimes 
changed into u ; as, Capable, occupant, from y cap. 

The radical vowel e, when preceded by a prefix, is changed into 
i in an open syllable ; as, Legible, intelligible, from y /eg-. 

The radical diphthong au, when preceded by a prefix, is changed 
into o or u ; as, Claudent, include, from y claud. 

This change of vowel, which modern philologists have investi- 
gated with great care, is to be regarded as an attenuation or light- 
ening of the vowel sound, as an offset to the weight of the preced- 
ing prefix. 

5. The root often undergoes mutilation ; as, Frail for fragile, from 
y 'frag. 

A LIST OF LATIN VERBAL ROOTS. 

§ 399. 1. y ac, " to be sharp," as in acid ; 2. y ag, " to drive," 
as in agile; 3. y bat, "to strike," as in combat; 4. fo'o, "to 
drink," as in imbibe ; 5. y cap, " to take," as in capable ; 6. y cZawz, 
" to cry out," as in clamor ; 7. y dzc, " to say," as in diction ; 8. 
y due, " to lead," as in induce ; 9. -\f em, " to buy," as in redeem; 
10. y ect, "to eat," as in edible; 11. fend, "to strike," as in de- 
fend; 12. -yj fid, "to trust," as in confide ; 13. -yf flu, " to flow," as 
indent ; 14. y frag, " to break," as inyragile ; 15. -\/ jac, "to cast," 
as inoculate; 16. y ger, "to bear," as in vicegerent; 17 y lab, 
" to lick," as in lab'ml ; 18. Zat;, " to wash," as in laver ; 10. y ma», 
" to stay," as in permanent ; 20. y mand, " to eat," as in mand- 
ible ; 21. y ?zec, "to join," as in connect; 22. y bid, "to wink," as 
in con?iz'ce ; 23. y cd, "to hate," as in odium; 24. y parcd, "to 
open," as in expand; 25. -y/ pel, "to drive," as in compeZ; 26. y 
reg, "to rule," as in regal ; 27. y rod, " to gnaw," as in corrode ; 28. 
y sal, " to leap," as in salient ; 29. y sec, " to cut," as in secant. 
30. y tog, "to touch," as in tangent; 31. y *oZ, "to raise," as in 
extol ; 32. y wrcg, " to anoint," as in wrcguent ; 33. y ur, " to burn," 
as in adwre ; 34. y uaZ, " to be strong," as in valid. ; 35. y ixzd, " to 
go," as in evade. 

II. LATIN STEM-ADJECTIVES. 

§ 400. Stem-adjectives, whether actually found in English: as, 
Bland, brute, crisp, crude, dense, dire, firm, grand, grave, just, larg«* 



DERIVATION. 409 

lax, mere, mute, prone, pure, rare, rude, sage, sane, sole, surd, vast, vile; 
or merely implied in the derivatives ; as, Brev, " short ;" cec, " blind ;" 
dign, " worthy f fort, " strong ;" grat, " grateful ;" lot, " broad ;" len, 
" mild ;" lent, " slow ;" lev, " light ;" magn, " great ;" maZ, " wicked ;" 
»!?>, " wonderful ;" »m'£, " mild ;" moll, " soft ;" mund, " pure ;" wov, 
"new;" pari), "small;" prau, "wicked;" pro&, "good;" nmc, 
"hoarse;" ser, "late;" true, " cruel ;" £wrp, "base;" ver, " true." 

III. LATIN STEM-SUBSTANTIVES. 

§ 401. Stem-substantives, whether actually found in English ; as, 
Arc, art, barb, cause, class, face, fane, fraud, globe, joke, mode, orb, pest, 
rite, sine, vase, verb ; or merely implied in the derivatives ; as, Can, 
"dog;" cib, "food;" civ, "citizen;" crin, "hair;" crur, "thigh;" 
for, " flower ;" hum, " ground ;" loc, " place ;" mor, " manner ;" morb, 
" disease ;" nav, " ship ;" ov, " egg ;" pit, " hair ;" plum, " feather ;" 
plumb, " lead ;" rug, " wrinkle." 

IV. LATIN PRIMARY DERIVATIVE WORDS. 

§ 402. Primary derivatives, or derivatives formed from the root 
or stem by means of a single suffix, include, 

1. Derivative verbs with the form of the Latin supine, or, rather, 
of the Latin passive participle : 

(1.) From roots ending in a labial mute ; as, Adapt, from -y/ ap 
accept, from -y/ cap ; lapse, from -y/ lab ; corrupt, from -y/ rup. 

(2.) From roots ending in a palatal mute; as, Act, from -y/ ag 
predict, from -y/ die ; direct, from -\f reg ; refract, from -y/ frag. 

(3.) From roots ending in a lingual mute ; as, Erase, from -y/ rad 
cense, from -y/ cend ; revise, from -y/ vid ; confess, from -y/ fat ; trans- 
gress, from -yf grad. 

(4.) From roots ending in a liquid I, m, n, or r ; as, Invent, from 
-y/ v<m ; insult, from -y/ ^aZ ; discourse, from -y/ cwr ; expose, from -y/ 
pew; press, from -y/ prem. 

(5.) From Latin verbs of first conjugation ; as, Inflate, from -\/fla; 
vacate, from -y/ vac ; create, from -y/ ere. 

(6.) From Latin verbs of second conjugation; as, Complete, from 
^ pie. 

(7.) From Latin verbs of fourth conjugation ; as, Audit, from -\f 
aud. 

2. Derivative verbs with other suffixes: 

(1.) "With the formative syllable er; as, Ponder, from -y/ pend. 
(2.) "With diminutive suffix il ; as, Cavil; also, cantillate, oscillate, 
scintillate, vacillate. 



410 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

(3.) With inchoative suffix esce ; as, Frondesce. 

3. Derivative adjectives : 

(1.) In aceous, from nouns ; as, Bulbaceous, from bulb ; crustaceous, 
from crust; herbaceous, from herb. 

(2.) In acious, from verbs ; as, Bibacious, from y bib ; capacious, 
from -y/ cap ; edacious, fallacious, rapacious, tenacious, vivacious, vo- 
racious. 

(3.) In al, from nouns; as, Final, horn, fine ; verbal, from verb; 
costal, crural, dental, dotal, legal, local; or in ial ; as, Cordial, labial, 
martial, pluvial. 

(4.) In an, from nouns ; as, Human, pagan, sylvan. 

(5.) In aneous, from nouns; as, Cutaneous, pedaneous. 

(6.) In ar, the same ^as al, from nouns ; as, Lunar, solar, stellar, 
vulgar. 

(7.) In ent, from verbs; as, Cadent, candent, claudent ; or in ant; 
as, Errant, secant, vacant ; or in ient ; as, Lenient. 

(8.) In eous, from nouns ; as, Aqueous, igneous, niveous, vitreous. 

(9.) In ible, from verbs ; as, Legible, edible ; or in able ; as, Arable, 
curable. 

(10.) In z'J, from verbs ; as, Acid, arid, algid ; or from nouns ; as, 
Florid, gelid, morbid, rorid. 

(11.) In He, from verbs ; as, Agile, fragile, utile; or from nouns ; 
as, Febrile, gentile, hostile, senile, servile. 

(12.) In ine ; as, Fagine, canine, ferine, saline. 

(13.) In ose; as, Crinose, globose, verbose. 

(14.) In ous ; as, Porous, vinous, mucous. 

(15.) In t; as, Relict; or ate ; as, Private ; or efa; as, Complete ; 
or zfa; as, Finite. 

(16.) In fzwe or szve, from verbs ; as, Active, captive, ortive, missive. 

4. Derivative concrete substantives: 

(1.) In acle ; as, Miracle, spiracle ; oxide; as, Vehicle, pellicle. 
(2.) In aster ; as, Poetaster, pilaster. 
(3.) In ary ; as, Library, granary. 
(4.) In w/e; as, Granule, spherule. 
(5.) In ory ; as, Armory, pillory. 

(6.) In far or w; as, Factor, from -\/ fac ; scissor, from -y/ scind; 
actor, from -y/ og-; cessor, from ceJe. 
(7.) In i(n'a?; as, Rectrix. 

5. Derivative abstract substantives : 

(1.) In acy ; as, Curacy, lunacy, legacy, fallacy. 

(2.) In ance ; as, Chance, from -\/ cad. 

(3.) In ancy ; as. Vacancy, peccancy, pliancy, tenancy. 



DERIVATION. 411 

(4.) In ence ; as, Cadence, from -y/ cad. 
(5.) In erccy; as, Cadency, pendency ; agency, from -y/ eg. 
(6.) In ice; as, Justice, fiom just ; malice, notice. 
(7.) In ity ,- as, Brevity ; crudity, from crwJe. 
(8.) In mony ; as, Alimony, testimony. 
(9.) In itude; as, Altitude ; solitude horn. sole. 
(10.) In ft'on and «'<w ; as,-Acft'orc, from -y/ ag ; vision, horn -y/ vid. 
(11.) In ture and swre; as, Culture, scripture; fracture, from -y/ 
/rag" ; rasure, from -\/ rac?. 

V. LATIN SECONDARY DERIVATIVES. 

§ 403. Secondary derivatives ; as, Courageous, tolerable, moderate, 
documentary, querimonious , plenteous, nationality. 

VI. LATIN DERIVATIVE WORDS WITH PREFIXES. 

§ 404. 1. Ah, from, in the different forms a, ah, abs ; as, Avert, 
absolve, abstain. 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb; as, Absolve, to free 
from ; abrade, to scrape off; avert, to turn away ; abuse, to use ill. 

(2.) As a preposition, with, its complement ; as, Aborigines, the 
first inhabitants of a country ; abstemious, abstaining from wine. 

2. Ad, to, in the different forms a, ac, ad, af, ag, al, an, ap, ar, as, 
at ; as, Ascribe, accede, adduce, affix, aggress, allege, annex, append, 
arrogate, assume, attain. 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Adhere, to stick 
to ; aggress, to go against. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Adjust, to make 
exact. 

3. Amb, about, having its original force of an adverb ; as, Ambi- 
tion, literally a going about ; ambiguous, of uncertain meaning. 

4. Ante or anti, before : 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Antecedent, going 
before ; anticipate, to act before another. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Antelucah, being 
before light. 

5. Circum, around : 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb; as, Circumspect, to 
look round. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Circumforaneous, 
going about from door to door. 

6. Cis, on this side, as a preposition, with its complement; as r 
Cisalpine, on this side of the Alps. 



412 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

7. Contra, against, having its original force of an adverb ; as, 
Contradict, to speak against. 

8. Cum, with, in its different forms co, col, com, con, cor ; as, Co- 
here, collude, commit, contend, corrode ; and having its original force 
of an adverb : as, Convoke, to call together ; contend, to strive 
against. 

9. Be, from : 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Deduce, to bring 
from ; deject, to cast down ; detect, to uncover. 

(2.) As a preposition,, with its complement; as, Dethrone, to re- 
move from a throne ; deprave, to make wicked. 

10. Di or dis, apart, used as an adverb ; as, Distract, to draw 
apart ; disobey, to refuse to obey. 

11. E or ex, out of: 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Eject, to cast out ; 
exscind, to cut off; exceed, to go beyond ; exclaim, to cry aloud. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement ; as, Enucleate, to free 
from the kernel. 

12. Extra, beyond : 

(1 .) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Extravagant, liter- 
ally wandering beyond limits. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Extraordinary, 
out of the common order. 

13. In, in, in its different forms il, im, in, ir ; as, Illumine, impose, 
incur, irrigate. 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Inject, to cast in ; 
impose, to place upon ; impend, to hang over : denoting intensity ; 
as, Incite, to stir up : denoting negation ; as, Inactive. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement ; as, Illumine, to set in 
light ; incarcerate, to put into prison ; irradiate, to affect with rays. 

14. Intro, within, having its original force of an adverb ; as, In- 
troduce, to bring in. 

15. Inter, between : 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Intervene, to come 
between ; interdict, to forbid. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Internode, the 
space between two joints of a plant. 

16. Ob, against, in its different forms ob, oc, of, op; as, Obtain, 
occur, offer, oppose ; and having its original force of an adverb ; as, 
Oppose, to place against. 

17. Per, through, as an adverb ; as, Perforate, to bore through: 
denoting negation ; as, Perfidious, faithless. 



DERIVATION. 41<J 

18. Post, after : 

(1.) Having its original force* of an adverb ; as, Postscript, some- 
thing written after. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement ; as, Post-meridian, m 
the afternoon. 

19. Pre, before, as an adverb ; as, Prefix, to put before. 

20. Pro, before, as an adverb ; as, Provide, to look before ; pro- 
duce, to bring forth. 

21. Preter, beyond : 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Pretermit, to pass 
by. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Preternatural, be- 
yond what is natural. 

22. Re, back, as an adverb ; as, Revolve, to roll back. 

23. Retro, backward, as an adverb ; as, Retrocede, to go backward. 

24. Se, apart, as an adverb ; as, Secede, to go apart. 

25. Sub, under, in its different forms sub, sue, suf, sup: as, Sub- 
ject, succumb, suffer, suppose. 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Subject, to bring 
under : denoting diminution ; as, Subacid, a little acid. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement ; as, Subterranean, un- 
der the earth. 

26. Super, over : 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Superadd, to add 
over ; superscribe, to write on the outside. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Supercargo, one 
placed over the cargo. 

27. Subter, under, having its original force of an adverb ; as, Sub- 
terfiuent, flowing under ; subterfuge, literally a fleeing under. 

28. Trans and tra, beyond, over ; as, Transpose, trajection. 

(1.) Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Transpose, to put 
in another place ; transgress, to go beyond ; translucent, shining 
through ; transform, to change the form. 

(2.) As a preposition, with its complement; as, Transmarine, liv- 
ing beyond the sea. 

29. Ultra, beyond, as a preposition, with its complement; as, Ul- 
tramarine, situated beyond the sea. 

ROMANIC PORTION OF OUR LANGUAGE. • 

§ 405. Besides the Latin portion of our language, which has been 
derived from the Norman-French, or subsequently introduced by the 
learned, and which has retained its Latin form, there is another por- 



414 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

tion of our language, also from the Latin, which has been corrupted 
more or less in coming down to our times. 

This corruption or modification has affected not only roots and 
stems, but also suffixes and prefixes, and, of course, both derivatives 
and compounds. 

I. Romanic Verbal Roots in English. — 1. Boil (compare -y/ bull 
in ebullition), to bubble up. 2. -y/ cay in decay (compare -y/ cad in 
cadence, -y/ cid in incident), to fall. 3. -y/ ceal in conceal (compare 
-y/ eel in cell), to hide. 4. -y/ ceive in conceive (compare -y/ cap in 
capable, -y/ cip in recipient), to hold. 5. claim (compare -y/ clam in 
clamor), to cry out. 6. deign (compare -yj dign in dignity), to think 
worthy. 7. feign (compare -y/ Jig in figure), to form. 8. found 
(compare -y/ fund in fundament), to lay the foundation. 9. found 
(compare -y/ fud in fusion), to pour out. 10. fray (compare -y/ fric 
in friction), to rub. 11. fry (compare -y/ frig in fricassee), to dress 
with fat by heating. 12. -y/ fy in magnify (compare -y/ fac in facile, 
■y/fice in suffice), to make. 13. join (compare -y/ jug in conjugal, -y/ 
j'zmg- injunction), to unite. 14. y' /y in a% (compare -y/ /?> in lig- 
ature), to bind. 15. -y/ mam in remain (compare -y/ man in perma- 
nent), to stay. 16. -y/ ?m^r in demur (compare -y/ mor in commorant), 
to reside. 17. -y/ noy in annoy (compare -y/ rcoc in innocent), to hurt. 

18. pami (compare -y/ pig in pigment), to form a figure in colors. 

19. -y/ pair in repair (compare -yj pare in prepare), to get ready. 20. 
-y/ pear in appear (compare -y/ par in apparent), to seem. 21. ^ peat 
in repeat (compare -y/ pet in repetition), to ask. 22. -y/ play in dz.?- 
p/ay; see ply. 23. please, and -y/ ply in comply (compare -y/ plac in 
complacent), to gratify. 24. -y/ ploy in employ ; see ply. 25. ply, -y/ 
play in display, and -y/ ploy in employ (compare -y/ plic in explicate), 
to fold. 26. ■yj ply in supply (compare -y/ pie in supplement), to fill. 
27. -y/ ply in comply ; see please. 28'. -yj pound in expound, and -y/ 
pose in impose (compare -y/ pon in exponent), to put. 29. -y/ pose in 
impose; see -y/ pound. 30. pray (compare -y/ prec in deprecate), to 
entreat. 31. prove (compare -y/ prob in probation), to try. 32. -y/ 
«m7 in assail (compare -y/ saZ in salient, -y/ szY in resilient), to leap. 
33. sound (compare y^ <swz in consonant), to make a noise. 34. -y/ 
spaz'r in despair (compare -y/ sper in desperation), to hope. 35. spouse 
and espouse (compare -y/ sponcZ in despond), to promise. 36. -y/ s^rwe 
in construe, and -y/ sZroy in destroy (compare -y/ s/rwc in destruction), 
to build. 37. -y/ stroy in destroy ; see -y/ sirwe. 38. swe (compare 
-y/ sea in consequent), to follow. 39. -y/ tarn in contain (compare -y/ 
Zen in tenor), to hold. 40. taiw* (compare tinge), to dye. 41. y /ray 
in portray (compare -y/ ifraA in attrahent), to draw. 42. -y/ vara/ in 



DERIVATION. 



415 



prevail (compare -y/ val in valid), to be strong. 43. -y/ veigh in in- 
veigh ; see -y/ vey. 44. -y/ vey in convey, -y/ veigh in inveigh, and -y/ 
voy in convoy (compare -y/ veh in vehicle), to carry. 45. -y/ vey in 
survey ; see v&ew. 46. view, and -y/ vey in survey (compare -yf vid 
in provide), to see. 47. vowcA (compare -y/ voc in convoke), to call. 
48. vow (compare <y/ vo in devotion), to promise solemnly. 49. -y/ 
voy in convoy ; see -y/ vey. 

II. Stem-adjectives. — The following are stem-adjectives: Chaste, 
clear, plain, vain. 

III. Stem-substantives. — The following are stem-substantives : 
Beast, etc. 

IY. Romanic derivative Words with Suffixes. — 1. Derivative 
verbs : 

(1.) in ish (Latin asco, esco, isco, osco), with loss of inchoative sig- 
nification ; as, Flourish, languish, abolish. 

(2.) in ize (Greek i^o)) ; as, Authorize, moralize, pulverize, temporize. 

2. Derivative adjectives: 

(1.) in eer or ier (Latin arius) ; as, Volunteer, dernier, premier. 
(2.) in esque (Teutonic ish) ; as, Arabesque, burlesque. 

3. Derivative concrete substantives : 

(1.) in ace or ass (Latin aceus) ; as, Populace, grimace, cuirass, cre- 
vasse. 

(2.) in age (Latin atium) ; as, Plumage, message, village. 

(3.) in ain or aign (Lat. aneus); as, Fountain, mountain, campaign, 
strange. 

(4.) in al (Latin alis) ; as, Journal, rival, signal. 

(5.) in iff (Latin ivus) ; as, Caitiff, bailiff. 

(6.) in ist (Greek lOTrjg) ; as, Artist, jurist. 

(7.) in eer or ier (Latin arius) ; as, Auctioneer, buccaneer, chevalier. 

4. Derivative abstract substantives : 
(1.) in eur ; as, Grandeur. 

(2.) in ice (Latin itium) ; as, Service. 

(3.) in ism (Greek La/xog) ; as, Deism, quietism. 

(4.) in ment ; as, Commencement, engagement. 

(5.) in son (Latin tio) ; as, Fashion, poison, prison, venison, gar- 
rison. 

(6.) in ty (Latin itas) ; as, Beauty, bounty, loyalty. 

(7.) in ue ; as, Virtue. 

(8.) in ure ; as, Verdure. 

V. Romanic derivative Words with Prefixes. — Besides the 
prefixes derived from the French which retain their original Latin 
form, there are others whose form is more or less disguised by pass- 



416 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

ing through the French. It is the latter which we propose to ex- 
amine with some minuteness. 
I. A (French a — Latin ad), to : 

1. Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Avail (to be effica- 
cious to ox for), avise (obsolete), avouch, avow. 

2. As a preposition, with its complement : 

(1.) Forming mere adverbial phrases ; as, Adieu (from a Dieu, to 
God), apart (from a part, aside) ; so Abandon (from a ban donner, to 
give to the ban). 

(2.) With substantives, and forming verbs neuter ; as, Agree (from 
a gre, as if to come into accordance) • or verbs active ; as, Achieve 
(from a chef, as if to bring to an end), alarm (from a Varme, as if to 
summon to arms), amass (from a masse, as if to collect into a mass), 

(3.) With adjectives, and forming factitive verbs ; as, Abase (from 
a bas, as if to bring low), aver (from a vrai, as if to make true) ; so 
with an infinitive termination, Ameliorate (from a meilleur, as if to 
reduce to a better state). 

II. A (French a =. Latin ab), from, away, having its original force 
of an adverb ; as, Abate (to beat down), avenge (to take vengeance 
from). 

III. A (French a or e=Latin e), out of: 

1. Having its original force of an adverb ; as, Afraid, Old English 
afrayed, affrayit (from French effrayer=. Latin effrico). 

2. As a preposition, with its complement ; as, Amend (from French 
amender= Latin emendo, as if to free from faults). 

IV. Anti (French anti— Latin ante), before, having its original 
force of an adverb ; as, Anti-chamber (a chamber or apartment before 
the principal apartment to which it leads). 

V. Avant (French at>a7^=Latin ab ante), from before, having its 
original force of an adverb ; as, Avant-guard (the advanced body of 
an army). 

VI. Coun (Old French coww=Latin con), together, having its orig- 
inal force of an adverb ; as, Council, counsel, countenance, country. 

VII. Counter (Old French countre = Latin contra) : 

1. Having its original force of an adverb, and in divers senses: 
(1.) Over against ; as, Counterdraw, counterfoil, counterfort, coun- 
tergage, counterguard, counterlight, countermark, countermure,coun- 
teropening, counterpart, counterseal, countersign, counterstock, coun- 
terview. 

(2.) Against, in opposition ; as, Counteract, counterattraction, 
countercurrent, countermand, countermine, countermotion, counter- 
movement, counternegotiation, counternoise, counterpassant, coun- 



DERIVATION. 4^7 

terplea, counterpoison (a poison to act against other poisons), coun- 
tervote, counterwind, counterwork 

(3.) Against and equally , as, Counterbalance, counterpoise, coun- 
tervail, counterweigh. 

(4.) In a contrary direction, by ; as, CounterbufF, countermarch, 
counterwheel. 

(5.) In return, reciprocally, as, Counterchange, counterpaled. 

(6,) In imitation ; as, Counterfeit. 

2. As a preposition, with its complement, against; as, Counter- 
charm, counternatural, counterpoison (an antidote against a poison). 

VIII. De (French c?er=Latin dis), as an adverb, implying negation ; 
as, Derange (to disorder). 

IX. En, before a labial em (French en, before a labial em—Ld^va. 
in, before a labial im) : 

L Having its original force of an adverb, in ; as, Enclose, engrave. 

2, As a preposition, with its complement, and that in various sig- 
nifications : 

(1.) In; as, Enambush, encage, encase, encave, encharge. 

(2.) On ; as, Enthrone, empale (to put to death on a stake). 

(3.) With, denoting the instrument ; as, Enamor, enchain, encircle. 

(4.) Among ; as, Enable (as if to place among the able), endear, en- 
feeble. 

(5.) Into, denoting condition ; as, Enact (as if to pass into an act), 
encamp, 

(6.) Against; as, Empeach. 

X. En (French e?z=Latin in), as an adverb, denoting negation ; 
as, Enemy (Latin inimicus), enmity. 

XL Enter or entre (French entre=ha.tm inter) : 

1. Having its original force of an adverb, and signifying, 
(1.) Between, among; as, Enterplead, enterprise, entertain. 
(2.) Mutually ; as, Enterdeal, enterlace, enter-parlance. 

2. As a preposition, with its complement, between; as, Entremets 
XII. Mai (French mal=z Latin male), as an adverb : 

(1.) Badly; as, Maladministration, malanders, malconformation. 
(2.) Equivalent to dis ; as, Malapropos, malcontent, malease. 
XIIL Outre (French outre=LdLtm ultra) ; as. Outrage. 

XIV. Par (French par— Latin per), through, entirely; having its 
original force of an adverb ; as, Pardon, paramour, paramount. 

XV. Pur (French par — Latin per), through ; as, Appurtenance, 
purtenance. 

XVI. Pur (French pour=La.tin pro), forth, out ; having its orig- 
inal force of an adverb ; as, Purchase (to pursue, procure), purl, purfie 

Dd 



418 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

or purfile [a profile, outline), purloin (to remove far away), purparty (a 
dividing out), purpose, purport. 

XVII. So (French se = Latin sub), under, during ; as a preposition, 
with its complement; as, Sojourn (to stay during the day). 

XVIII. Sur (French sur= Latin super) : 

1. Having its original force of an adverb, and that in various sig- 
nifications : 

(1 .) Upon, over ; as, Surcingle, surcoat, surprise, surround, survey. 

(2.) Over, beyond ; as, Surmount. 

(3.) Beyond, in time ; as, Survive. 

(4.) Beyond, in a metaphorical sense ; as, Surpass. 

(5.) Over and above ; as, Suraddition, surcrew, surname, suroxyd. 

(6.) Over, in excess ; as, Surcharge, surfeit, surmise, surquedry. 

(7.) Nearly redundant ; as, Surcease. 

2. As a preposition, with its complement ; as, Surbase, surface, 
surplice, surtout. 

XIX. Tres (French tres=hsdm trans), beyond, over ; having its 
original force of an adverb ; as, Trespass (to pass beyond or over). 

VI. Romanic Compounds : 

1. Imperfect compositions ; as, Piano-forte. 

2. Perfect compositions ; as, Faubourg, maintain. 

3. Inverted compounds ; as, Portfolio, wardrobe. 

VII. Disguised Romanic Derivatives and Compounds : 

1. Bachelor (French bachelier, Portuguese bacharel, Spanish bachil- 
ler, Italian baccelliere, Low Latin baccalaureus and bacularius ; also, 
Anglo-Saxon bachiler), a knight of the lowest order ; also one who 
has taken his first degree in the liberal arts ; also an unmarried 
man ; from French has chevalier, an inferior knight, compounded of 
French bas, low, and chevalier, a knight. 

2. Biscuit (French biscuit, Portuguese biscoito, biscouto, Spanish 
bizcocho, Italian biscotto), a kind of hard bread, as if twice baked, com- 
pounded of Latin bis, twice, and coctus, baked. 

3. Coil (French cueillir, Portuguese collier, colligir, Spanish colegir, 
Italian cogliere, Latin colligo, compounded of con, together, and lego, 
to gather), to gather into a circular form ; a corruption of collect, lit- 
erally to gather together. 

4. Count or compt (French conter, compter, Portuguese contar, com- 
putar, Spanish contar, computar, Latin computo, compounded of con, 
together, and puto, to reckon), a corruption of compute, to reckon. 

5. Cover (French couvrir, Portuguese and Spanish cubrir, Italian 
coprire, Latin cooperio, compounded of co for con, together, and ope* 
rio), to conceal, hide. 



DERIVATION 419 

6. Curfew (French couvre-feu, cover-fire, compounded of couvre, 
cover, and /ew, fire), an evening bell for raking up one's fire. 

7. Kerchief (French couvre-chef cover-head, compounded of couvre, 
cover, and chef, head), a head-dress. 

8. Kickshaw (French quelque chose, something, compounded of 
French quelque, some, and chose, thing), something fantastical. 

9. Vinegar (French vinaigre, sour wine, compounded of vin, wine, 
and aigre, sour ; Portuguese and Spanish vinagre, Italian vinagro), an 
acid liquor. 

10. Proctor (French procureur, Portuguese and Spanish procurador, 
Italian procuratore, Latin procurator), literally, one who takes care 
of any thing for another ; the same word as procurator, compounded 
of pro, for, and curator, one who has the care of any thing. 

11. Provost (Anglo-Saxon prafast, prafost, profast, profost, prowast ; 
Dutch prevoost, provoost, proost ; German profoss, provoss ; Danish 
propos, provst ; Swedish profoss, prost ; Icelandic profastr ; also, 
French prevbt ; Portuguese and Spanish preboste, preposito ; Italian 
proposto, prevosto ; Latin propositus, compounded of pr&, before, and 
positus, placed), literally, one set before or over any thing. 

Note. — This word, although of Latin origin, is evidently derived 
to us from the Anglo-Saxon. 

12. Proxy (French procuration, Portuguese procuracao, Spanish pro- 
curacion, Italian procurazione, Latin procuratio), literally, the taking 
care of any thing for another ; the same word as procuracy, com- 
pounded of pro, for, and curacy, the taking care of any thing. 

1-3. Saragossa (French Saragosse, Portuguese and Spanish Sara- 
gossa, Latin Casaraugusta, so named from Caesar Augustus), a city 
in Aragon, Spain. 

14. Verdict (Norman-French vereduist, Law Latin veredictum, as if 
vere dictum, truly said), the answer of a jury given to court. 

NATURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEK PORTION 
OF OUR LANGUAGE. 

§ 406. Many Greek words have been adopted in English, princi- 
pally to denote scientific objects. These it is desirable to analyze. 

The Greek portion of our language may be conveniently classified 
thus : 

I. Stem-verbs, or roots, with the surd sign prefixed, as they are 
not used in English ; as, -\f baph, in baptism ; -y/ graph, in graphic. 
See § 407. 

II. Stem-adjectives ; as, Cat, in caligraphy. See § 409. 

III. Stem-substantives; as, Bomb, chord. See § 410. 



420 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

IV. Words with suffixes ; as, Lyric, nomad, gnome. See § 411. 

V. Words with prefixes ; as, Analyze. See § 412. 

VI. Compound words ; as, Astronomy, geography. See § 413. 

VII. Disguised derivatives and compounds ; as, Bishop, surgeon. 
See § 414. 

I. GREEK ROOTS. 

§ 407. The whole stock of words in the Greek language, however 
large, is capable of being reduced to a comparatively small number 
of stem-verbs or roots. 

The general character of these roots is analogous to that of Latin 
roots. Thus we have, 

1. Imperfect roots, which are few in number: 

(1.) Consisting of a vowel only ; as, y a, "to breathe." 
(2.) Ending with a vowel ; as, y sta, " to stand." 
(3.) Commencing with a vowel ; as, -\/ ep, " to say." 

2 . Perfect roots, which are very numerous : 

(1.) Beginning and ending with a single consonant; as, -\f Up, 
" to leave." 

(2.) Beginning or ending with more than one consonant; as, -\J 
cryb, "to hide ;" -\f camp, " to bend." 

The consonants are the more permanent elements of the root, and 
to them the significancy of the root seems to attach itself. 

Greek verbal roots are liable to various changes or modifications, 
which disguise them more or less, and prevent their full apprecia- 
tion. 

Modern philologists have attempted, with great labor, to classify 
these changes or reduce them to general principles, and to give a 
philosophical account of their origin. We propose to give their re- 
sults so far as the English language is concerned. 

I. The following are euphonic processes, having for their object 
merely to relieve the organs of speech, or to please the ear : 

1 . The radical vowel a is sometimes changed into e. This is ef- 
fected by attenuation or precession of vowel sound. See Professor A. 
Crosby, Greek Grammar, § 29. Examples will occur as we proceed. 

2. The radical letters, particularly a vowel and liquid, are some- 
times transposed ; as, dragon for dracon, " sharp-sighted," from -y/ 
dare, " to see," by transposition drac ; tmesis, " a separation," from 
y tarn, " to cut," by transposition and precession of vowel tme ; em- 
blem, " something inlaid," from -/ bal, " to cast" or " lay," by trans- 
position and precession of vowel hie. 

3. The last consonant of the root sometimes adapts or accommo- 



DERIVATION. 421 

dates itself to the first consonant of the suffix; as, crypt, "hidden," 
from -y/ cryb, " to hide," by accommodation cryp ; nxolepsis, " antici- 
pation," from -y/ lab, "to take," by precession of vowel and accom- 
modation lep ; apsis, "juncture," from -y/ aph, "to join," by accom- 
modation ap ; practical, " doing," from -y/ prog, "to do," by accom- 
modation prac; apoplectic, " striking down," from -y/plag, "to strike," 
by precession of vowel and accommodation plec ; hectic, "habitual," 
from -y/ hech, " to have," by accommodation hec ; dogma, " an opin- 
ion," from -y/ doc, " to seem," by accommodation dog ; paraafzg-m, " an 
example," from -y/ die, " to show," by accommodation dig. 

4. The last consonant of the root sometimes assimilates itself to 
the first letter of the suffix ; as, comma, " a segment," from -y/ cop, 
"to cut ;" lemma, " a received truth," from -y/ lab, " to take," by pre- 
cession of vowel leb. 

5. The last consonant of the root is sometimes cut off before the 
suffix by syncope : (1.) n ; as, climate, " a country in reference to 
its geographical position," from -y/ clin, " to lean ;" (2.) d; as, phrase, 
" a speaking," from -y/ phrad, " to say ;" (3.) th ; as, plastic, " form- 
ing," from -y/ plath, " to form," by dropping the final th and strength- 
ening the vowel plas ; (4.) the digamma or u ; as, pleiao\, the name 
of a star, from -y/ pleu, "to sail," by dropping the final u and then 
protracting the vowel e, plei. 

6. The final vowel of the root is sometimes strengthened before 
the suffix by an epenthetic s; as, caustic, "burning," from -y/ cau, 
"to burn;" schism, "a division," from -y/ schid, "to divide," by 
dropping the final d and strengthening the vowel schis ; spasm, " a 
contraction," from -y/ spa, " to draw." 

II. The following changes arise from internal inflection, or change 
of vowel within the root itself: 

1 . The radical vowel a is sometimes protracted by internal inflec- 
tion ; as, sy^em, " things standing together," from -y/ sta, " to stand," 
by protraction and precession of vowel ste. So emblem, from -y/ ' bal ; 
tmesis, from -y/ tarn. 

2. The radical vowel a is sometimes changed into o by internal 
inflection ; as, ode, " a song," from -y/ aed, " to sing ;" tome, " a vol 
ume," from -y/ tarn, "to cut;" tone, "a note," from -y/ tan, "to 
stretch ;" ipaiabole, " a comparing," from -y/ bal, " to cast" or " lay." 

III. The following were originally emphatic processes for express- 
ing with more force the idea of continued action : 

1. The radical vowel a is sometimes protracted; as, lemma, " a 
received truth," from -y/ lab, " to take," by protraction and preces- 
sion of vowel leb; phenomenon, " something appearing," from ■y/ pfia, 



422 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

"to show," by protraction and precession of vowel, and by the ad- 
dition of n, phen. 

2. The radical vowel is sometimes strengthened by a nasal ; as, 
tympanum, " a drum," from -y/ typ, " to strike." 

3. The radical vowel is sometimes strengthened by guna, that is, 
u is changed into eu ; as, zeugma,, " a juncture," from -y/ zyg or zug, 
" to join ;" pentaitewcA, from -y/ tych or tuck. 

4. The first two letters of the root are sometimes repeated ; as, 
synagogue, " an assembling together," from -y/ ag, " to lead" or 
"bring." 

5. The form of the root is sometimes lengthened (1.) by the addi- 
tion of a vowel ; as, (esthetic, " pertaining to rhetoric or taste," from 
i/ aesth, "to perceive;" Genesis, "origin," from -\/ gen, "to pro- 
duce;" (2.) by the addition of the consonant n ; as, diapAarcous, 
"shining through," from -y/ pha, "to show,-" or t; as, baptize, "to 
immerse," from -y/ baph, " to immerse," by accommodation and 
strengthening b'apt ; (3.) by the addition of a vowel and consonant ; 
as, auxesis, "increase," from -y/ aug, "to increase." 

LIST OF GREEK VERBAL ROOTS IN ENGLISH. 

§ 408. 1. -y/ a (Greek -y/ a, = Sanscrit -y/ wd), breathing ; whence 
air for aer (-y/ a -j-suffix er), the fluid which we breathe ; aerial (y^ 
a-fsuffix er+Latin suffix z'-f Latin suffix al), pertaining to the air. 

2. -yj aed (Greek -y/ ad), by internal inflection oed (Greek (1)5), 
singing ; whence ode (<y/ oed-\-e mute), a song; tragedy (-y/ trag-\- 
-y/ oed-\- suffix y), literally a goat-song. 

3. -y/ aesth (Greek -y/ aloO), with lengthened form aesthe (Greek 
alode), perceiving ; whence (Esthetic (-y/ aesthe-\- double suffix tic), re- 
lating to perception, particularly of the beautiful. 

4. y aeth (Greek -y/ aid), shining; whence ether (-y/ aeth-\~ suffix 
er), the shining upper air. 

5. -yj ag (Greek -y/ ay,=Latin -y/ ag), by internal inflection og 
(Greek (by), leading or bringing; whence paragoge (prefix para-\-^/ 
ag repeated + suffix e), a bringing or putting on of a letter or sylla- 
ble to the end of a word; synagogue (prefix syn-\--yJ ' ag repeated-f- 
ue mute), a congregation of Jews ; demagogue (-y/dem-\- -y/ag xeveaX- 
ed-fwe mute), a people-leader, 

6. <y/ aph (Greek -y/ d</> or a^),=Latin -y/ ap h), joining ; whence 
apsis, plural apsides (-y/ aph-^-suffix. sid), literally a juncture. 

7. -yj arch (Greek -y/ dpx), beginning, leading; whence arch, ad< 
jective, chief ; archon (-y/ arch-\- suffix on), a Grecian magistrate; 
monarch (y mon-\- -y/ arch), one ruling alone ; archetype (-y/ arch with 






DERIVATION. 423 

union-vowel e-\-*y/ typ-\-e mute), first impressed, original ; architect 
( -y/ arch with union-vowel i-\- -y/ tec-\- suffix t), a chief builder ; arch- 
duke (-y/ arch-\- -y/ due with e mute), a chief duke. 

8. -y/ aug (Greek -y/ avy,=rLatin -y/ aug, English eke), with length- 
ened form auxe (Greek av^e), increasing ; whence auxesis (<y/ auxe-\- 
suffix sis), increase, as the name of a rhetorical figure. 

9. <\J ba (Greek -y/ (3a, going; whence basis or base (-y/ ba-\- suffix 
sis or 6-e), a stepping, that on which any thing rests. 

10. -yf bat (Greek -y/ /3a X, — Latin -y/ bal in balister), by internal in- 
flection bol (Greek (3oX), by transposition and lengthening of the 
vowel ble (Greek (3Xrj), casting or laying ; whence symbol (prefix syn 
+ y / bol), what by comparison suggests something else; parabole 
(prefix para-\--y/ foZ-j- suffix c), a comparing or laying alongside; 
parable (the same form more fully Anglicized), a species of extended 
comparison; emblem (prefix en-\- -y/ ble-\- suffix m), something inlaid. 

11. -y/ baph (Greek -y/ /3a</>), with final radical strengthened by t, 
bapt (Greek j3a7rr), dipping; whence baptize (-y/ bapt-\- suffix ize), to 
administer the sacrament of baptism. 

12. -y/ bo (Greek -\J (3o), feeding; whence botany (y^ bo-\- triple 
suffix tany), the science of plants ; proboscis (prefix pro -}- y &o-J- suf- 
fix sc-f suffix is), literally what feeds before. 

13. -y/ camp (Greek -y/ Kap,n,= Sanscrit -y/ kamp), with final radi- 
cal strengthened by £, campt (Greek Kafjarr), bending ; whence ana- 
camptic (prefix ana-{- i/ campt -\- suffix ic), reflected. 

14. -y/ cau (Greek -y/ Kav), burning; whence caustic {-\/ cau 
strengthened by s-f-double suffix tic), burning; cautery (-y/ cau-\- 
suffix tery), an instrument for burning ; holocaust (-y/ hoi with union- 
vowel o-j- -y/ cau strengthened by 6- -f- suffix t), an offering which was 
wholly. burned. 

15. -y/ chra (Greek -y/ %pa),hy lengthening the vowel chre (Greek 
XP 7 ]), using ; whence catachresis (prefix cata-{- -y/ chre-\- suffix sis), 
abuse, as the name of a rhetorical figure. 

16 -y/ chri (Greek -y/ %pt), anointing; whence chrism (-\V chri 
strengthened by s-f suffix m), unguent ; Christ {-y/ chri strengthened 
by s-|- su fri x t), literally the anointed. 

17. -y/ chro (Greek %po), coloring ; whence chrome (-y/ chro-\- suffix 
me), a metal which affords beautiful colors. 

Note. — The three preceding numbers, -y/ chra, -y/ chri, and -y/ chro, 
are regarded as collateral roots, all signifying primarily to touch the 
surface. 

18. -y/ chy (Greek -yj %v), pouring; whence parenchyma (prefix para 
-f prefix en-\--y/chy-\- suffix ma), the spongy substance of the viscera. 



424 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

19. -y/ cla (Greek -\f nXa), breaking ; whence iconoclast (-y/ icon 
with union-vowel o+y ' cla strengthened by s+suffix t), an image- 
breaker. 

20. -\f clin (Greek i/ kXlv,=z Latin y din, English lean), leaning; 
whence clinic (i/ clin-\- suffix ic), pertaining to a bed; climate or clime 
(y c/m-f- suffix mate or me), a country in reference to its geographical 
position ; enclitic (prefix en-\- <y/clin-{- double suffix tic), inclining. 

21. -yj cap or cop (Greek y Kan or tf07r), cutting; capon {^/ cap-\- 
suffix ow), the name of a bird; comma (y cop -f- suffix ma), a seg- 
ment; apocope (prefix apo-{--\/ cop + suffix e), a cutting off, as the 
name of a grammatical figure. 

22. -}/ era (Greek -y/ Kpa), mixing; whence crasis (y era -{-suffix 
sis), a mixing, as the name of a grammatical figure. 

23. -\f cri (Greek -\/ tcpc,=z Sanscrit y Ar2, Latin y Are or An), sift- 
ing or separating; whence crisis (y^cn'-f suffix sis), a separation, 
decision; critic (y en -(-double suffix tic), pertaining to judging. 

24. -y/ cryb (Greek -y/ Kpv6), with final radical strengthened by t, 
crypt (Greek Kpvnr), hiding ; whence crypt ( y 'crypt), hidden, a vault ; 
apocrypha (prefix apo-\--y/ cryb -f- suffix a), hidden, applied to books 
which were laid up at home and not read in public. 

25. y cy (Greek -\f tcv), containing ; whence cyst (-y/ cy strength- 
ened by s-\- suffix t), a bag or tunic containing morbid matter in an- 
imal bodies ; cyma or cyme (-y/cy-{- suffix ma or me), literally some- 
thing contained. 

26. y dare (Greek -y/ dapK,= Sanscrit -y/ dric), by transposition 
drac (Greek Spate), seeing; whence dragon (y drag for aVac-j- suffix 
on), sharp-sighted, the name of an animal. 

27. -yf de (Greek -y/fo:), binding; whence anademe (prefix ana-\- 
■y/ de-\- suffix me), a chaplet of flowers ; diadem (prefix dia-{--\/de-{- 
suffix m), a head-band worn by kings. 

28. -yf dem (Greek -y/ de/i), by internal inflection dom (Greek dofi), 
building; whence dome (-y/ dom-\-e mute), a house. 

29. -y/ die (Greek -yf 6eiK,z=z Sanscrit -y/ die, Latin -y/ die, English 
teach), showing; whence paradigm (prefix para-\- -yf dic-\- suffix m), 
an example ; apodictic (prefix apo-\- -y/dic-\- double suffix tic), demon- 
strative. 

30. -yf do (Greek -y/ do,=Sanscrit -y/ da, Latin -yf da), giving; 
whence dose (-\/ do-{- suffix se), quantity given ; antidote (prefix anti 
+ -y/ do-\- suffix te), a counteracting medicine; apodosis (prefix apo 
-f -y/ do-{- suffix sis), the application of a similitude. 

31. y doc (Greek -y/ don, =Latin -y/ Joe), thinking or seeming j 
whence dogma (i/doc -J- suffix ma), an opinion. 



DERIVATION. 425 

32. 1/ dra (Greek -y/ 6pa), acting; whence drama (-y/c?m-f suffix 
ma), an action labored after the rules of art. 

33. -y/ dram (Greek -y/ dpap), by internal inflection drom (Greek 
Spo/i), running ; whence dromedary (-\/drom-\- suffix ad-\- Latin suffix 
ary), a species of camel; syndrome (prefix syn-\- -y/ ' drom-\-e mute), 
a concurrence ; hippodrome (-y/ hipp with union-vowel o-\- -y/ cZrom-f- 
e mute), a place for running horses. 

34. y ep (Greek -y/ .Fen - , = Sanscrit -y/ watsh, Latin -y/ voc), say- 
ing; whence epz'c (-y/ep-|- su ffi x ?c )> narrative. 

35. y erg- (Greek -y/ Fepy,= English work), by internal inflection 
org- (Greek Fopy), working; whence organ (-\/ org-\- suffix an), an 
instrument; energy (prefix en-\- -y/ erg-\- suffix y), efficacy ; liturgy 
(-y/ fo'Z with union-vowel 0+ -y/ er £"+ suffix y), public service. 

36. -y/e^ (Greek -y/e#), to be wont ; whence ethic (-y/e^-f suffix 
»c), relating to morals. 

37. -y/ gam (Greek -y/ y^w), marrying; whence polygamy {-y/ poly 
■\--\f gam-\- suffix y), marriage with several. 

38. -y/ gen (Greek -y/ yev,z= Sanscrit -y/ dzhan, Latin -y/ g-ew and gTia 
or na), by internal^inflection gwi (Greek yov), and with lengthened 
form gene (Greek yeve), producing ; whence oxygen (-y/ oa?y-|- -y/^en), 
acid-making ; cosmogony (-\/ cosm with union-vowel o-\- -y/ gon-\- suf- 
fix y), the origin of the world ; Genesis (-y/ g-erce -f- suffix s^s), origin, 
the name of the first book of Moses. 

39. -y/ glyph (Greek -y/ yXvcp), cutting in ; whence glyph, a cavity 
intended as an ornament; hieroglyph (-y/ hier with union-vowel o-\- 
-y/ glyph), a sacred character. 

40. -y/ gno (Greek -y/ yvo, = Sanscrit y dzhna, Latin -y/ gno or 
wo, English know), knowing ; whence gnome (-y/ gno-\- suffix me), 
something known, a maxim ; gnomon (-y/ g"fto-f- suffix mon), know- 
ing, the style or pin of a dial; gnostic (-y/ gno strengthened by s 
-f-double suffix tic), knowing, belonging to a sect of Oriental philos- 
ophers. 

41. -y/ graph (Greek -y/ ypa(f),=z Latin -y/ ' scrib, English grave and 
scrape), digging ; whence graphic (-y/ graph-{- suffix z'c), descriptive ; 
telegraph {-y/ tele -\-^/ graph), an instrument for communicating to a 
distance ; hagiographa ( -y/ Aagi with union-vowel o-\- -y/ graph -\- suffix 
«), sacred writings. 

42. -y/ harp (Greek -y/dp7T,= Latin -y/ rap), seizing ; whence harpy 
(-y/ harp-\- suffix y), a fabulous monster; harpoon (-y/ harp-\- French 
suffix oora), a harping-iron. 

43. ^ ^ ec ^ or sec h (Greek -y/ k% or <re%), by transposition sc^e 
(Greek o%e), having ; whence hectic [-y/ hech-\~ double suffix tic), ha- 



426 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

bitual; cachexy (-y/ cac-\-y/ heck -J- suffix sy), ill habit; scheme (-]/ 
sche-{- suffix me), a plan. 

44. -y/ id (Greek -y/ Fid,z= Sanscrit -y/ tw^, Latin -y/ vid, English 
wit), with lengthened form ide (Greek Fide), seeing ; whence idea 
(y/ ide-\- suffix a), an image. 

45. -^//ao (Greek -y//la6, = Sanscrit -y/ labh), by lengthening the 
radical vowel ^ (Greek /I776), taking; whence astrolabe (-y/ astr 
with union-vowel 0-f--v/^-f-6 mute), literally a star-taker; prolep- 
sis (prefix pro-{- y/ Ze5-f suffix sis), anticipation ; lemma (y/ leb-\- suf- 
fix ma), a received truth. 

46. y/ lamp (Greek -y/ Xaya:), shining ; whence lamp, a light made 
with oil and a wick. 

47. -y/ leg (Greek y/ Aey,=Latin y/ leg), by internal inflection fog- 
( Greek Xoy), gathering, speaking ; whence prolegomena (prefix pro 
-{-y/ leg -{-suffix omena), preliminary observations; lexicon (y/ leg-\- 
double suffix sicon), a dictionary; dialogue (prefix dia-\- y/ log-{-ue 
mute), a conversation. 

48. -y/ lip (Greek y/ Xltt,— Latin y/ liqu), leaving, failing ; whence 
ellipsis (prefix en-{-y/ lip -f- suffix sis), an omission ; eclipse (prefix ec 
J r-y/lip-\- suffix se), literally a failure. 

49. y/ lit (Greek y/ Xlt), supplicating; whence litany (y/ lit-\- 
double suffix any), a form of supplication. 

50. y/ ly (Greek y/ Av, = Latin y/ lu in solvo), loosing; whence 
analysis (prefix ana-\- y/ /y+suffix sis), a resolving. 

51. y/ mach (Greek y/ fiax), fighting ; whence naumachy (y/nau-{- 
■y/ mach-\- suffix y), a fight of ships ; monomachy (y/ mon with union- 
vowel o-f- y/ mach-\-suffix ?/), a single fight. 

52. -y/ man (Greek y/ \iav), to be mad ; whence mania (y/ man-\- 
suffix ia), madness. 

53. yf math (Greek y/ \iaQ), with lengthened form mathe (Greek 
fxade), learning; whence philomath (-y/ phil with union-vowel o-\-y/ 
math), a lover of learning ; chrestomathy (-y/ chrest with union-vowel 
o-{- y/ math -{-suffix y), useful or necessary learning; mathematical 
(-y/ mathe -{-double suffix matic-{- Latin suffix a/), pertaining to the 
science of quantity. 

54. y/ 7zm, 710771 (Greek -y/ v£ji£, w/z), pasturing, ruling ; whence 
nomad ; antinomian ; astronomy ; economy. 

55. -y/ op (Greek -y/ 07r), seeing ; whence optic; synopsis; au- 
topsy. 

56. y/ path (Greek y/ 7ra0,= Latin -y/potf), suffering; whence pa- 
thos ; pathic ; apathy. 

57. y/pau (Greek y/ Trav), ceasing ; whence pause. 



DERIVATION. 427 

58. -y/ pemp,pomp (Greek -y/ Trefin, TrofiTt), sending ; whence pomp, 
literally a sending under escort. 

59. -yf pen,pon (Greek -yf irev, 7rov,=Latin -y/ pen in penury), la- 
boring ; whence geoponic, laboring the earth. 

60. -y/ pet (Greek <y/ irer,— Sanscrit -y/ pat, Latin yf pet), by syn- 
cope of the radical vowel and extension pto (Greek ttto), falling ; 
whence symptom. 

61. -yf pet (Greek -y/ 7rer, = Latin -y/ pat), spreading out; whence 
petal. 

62. -y/ pha,phe (Greek -y/ </>a, 0?/,= Latin -\/fa), speaking ; whence 
prophet ; euphemism. 

63. -y/ pha (Greek -\/ (pa,z= Sanscrit -y/ bhci), with lengthened form 
phan, phaen (Greek <pav, cpaiv), appearing ; whence phase ; diapha- 
nous ; phenomenon. 

64. -yf pher, phor (Greek -y/ (pep, (pop,= Sanscrit -y/ bhri, Latin -y/ 
fer, English bear), bearing ; whence periphery ; metaphor ; phosphor. 

65. -y/ phil (Greek -y/ <piX), loving; whence philter ; philomel. 

66. -y/ phleg, phlog (Greek -y/ <pXey, <pXoy,z=. Sanscrit -\/ bhradzk P 
Latin -y/ flag and fulg, English blink), shining, burning ; whence 
phlegm; phlogiston. 

67. -\f phrad (Greek <y/ <ppad), saying; whence phrase ; periphra- 
sis; paraphrase. 

68. -y/ phrag (Greek -y/ <ppaj), inclosing ; whence diaphragm. 

69. -yf phtheg (Greek -y/ (j)0eyy), saying ; whence apophthegm. 

70. -yj phthi (Greek -y/ (pOt), wasting away; whence phthisis. 

71. -yf phy (Greek -y/ <pv, = Sanscrit -y/ bhu, Latin -\/ fu, English 
be), being born ; whence physic ; symphysis ; neophyte. 

72. -y/ plac, ploc (Greek -yf ixXaa, ttXok), folding; whence epiploce, 
implication, a figure of rhetoric. 

73. -y/ plag, pleg (Greek -y/ irXay, nXrjy), striking; whence apo- 
plexy; hemiplexy. 

74. -y/ plath (Greek -y/ nXad), forming; whence plastic. 

75. -y/ ' pleu (Greek -y/ nXev), sailing; whence pleiad. 

76. -y/ pneu (Greek -y/ uvev), breathing ; whence pneumatic ; pneu- 
monic. 

77. -y/ po (Greek -yf tto, = Sanscrit -y/ pa, Latin -yf po in potus), 
drinking ; whence symposium. 

78. -y/ ' poe (Greek -y/ not), with lengthened form poee (Greek note), 
making; whence poet ; poem ; epopee. 

79. -y/ prag (Greek -y/ rrpay), doing; whence pragmatic ; praxis. 

80. -y/ ' pri (Greek -y/ npi), sawing; whence prism. 

81. -y/ psa, pse (Greek -y/ tpa, iprj), rubbing ; whence palimpsest, an 
old parchment rubbed over or prepared anew. 



428 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

82. -y/ psal (Greek -y/ ipaX), playing on an instrument; whence 
psalm; psaltery. 

83. -y/ pty (G-reek -y/ 7rTi;,=Latin -y/ pitu in pituita, English spit), 
spitting ; whence ptysmagogue. 

84. -y/ ' rheu, rhe (Greek pev, pe,— Sanscrit -y/ sru, Latin -y/ ru in 
rivus), flowing ; whence rheum ; rhetoric ; diarrhoea ; catarrh. 

85. -/ scad, scand (Greek y Oftad, ortavd,= Sanscrit -y/ scand, Latin 
■y/ scand), mounting ; whence scandal. 

86. -y/ seep, scop (Greek -y/ okett, gkoit,— Sanscrit -y/ pac, Latin y 
spec, English spy), seeing; whence scope; episcopal; bishop. 

87. -y/ schid (Greek -y/ 0^16, = Sanscrit y tshhid, Latin -yj scind, 
English sheathe), dividing ; whence schism. 

88. -y/ spa (Greek -yj aira,z=. Latin -y/ spa in spatium), drawing; 
whence spasm. 

89. -\f spar (Greek OTrap, = Sanscrit -\/ sphar, Latin -y/ spar in spar- 
go), scattering ; whence sperm. 

90. y' spend, spond (Greek -y/ onevd, cnovd), pouring out ; whence 
spondee. 

91. -y/ sta, ste (Greek -y/ era, <jtt}, = Sanscrit -yj sthd, Latin y sta, 
English stay), standing; Whence apostate; metastasis; apostasy; 
system. 

92. -y/ stal, stol (Greek -y/ oraX, oroX,=z English stall), placing, 
sending ; whence peristaltic ; diastole ; apostolic ; apostle ; epistle. 

93. y steph (Greek -y/ orecf)), crowning ; whence Stephen, a proper 
name. 

94. y stig (Greek -y/ any, =. Latin -\/ stig in instigate, English 
stick), marking ; whence stigma. 

95. -y/ streph, stroph (Greek -y/ arpecf), arpocp), turning ; whence 
strophe. 

96. -y/ tag (Greek ray), arranging; whence tactic; syntax. 

97. y tarn, torn (Greek -y/ rap,, rop,,= Latin y tern), by transposi- 
tion and lengthening of radical vowel tme (Greek rfirj), cutting ; 
whence tome; atom; anatomy ; epitome; tmesis. 

98. -y/ tan, ton (Greek -y/ rav, rov, — Sanscrit -y/ tan, Latin -y/ ten, 
English thin), stretching ; whence tone ; tonic ; hypotenuse. 

99. -yj ' thaph (Greek y dart, in i9a7rra),= Sanscrit y tap, Latin y 
tap), burying ; whence cenotaph. 

100. y thraph, ihroph (Greek -y/ -&pa<p, tipocp), nourishing ; whence 
atrophy. 

101. y the (Greek y #e,= Sanscrit y dha, Latin -y/ do in condo), 
placing ; whence thesis ; theme ; anathema ; antithetic. 

102. y thel (Greek y $eX), willing ; whence monothelite. 



DERIVATION. 429 

103. -y/ ther (Greek -y/ -&ep,=La.tm -y/ ferv), to be warm ; whence 
thermal; anthracite. 

104. -y/ ti (Greek -y/ n), honoring ; whence Titus, Timon, proper 
names. 

105. -y/ trap, trop (Greek -y/ rpan, rpon), turning; whence trope. 

106. -y/ tych (Greek -y/ tv%), with guna of radical vowel teuch 
(Greek rev%), making ; whence pentateuch. 

107. -\/ typ (Greek -\/ tvit,= English tap), striking; whence type; 
tympanum. 

108. -y/ za, zo (Greek -y/ $a, £o,=z Sanscrit -y/ dzhiw, Latin -y/ viv, 
English quick), living ; whence azote ; zoology. 

109. -y/ ze,zy (Greek -y/ £e, $v), boiling; whence apozem; zeolite; 
zumic ; azyme. 

110. -y/ zo (Greek -y/£o,=: Sanscrit ■>/ yu, Latin -y/i M m j us )i bind- 
ing, girding ; whence ;swie. 

111. -\/ zyg (Greek -\/ %vy,=z Sanscrit -\/ yudzh, Latin -y/ jug, En- 
glish yoke), with guna of radical vowel ^ewg- (Greek £evy), joining; 
whence syzygy ; zeugma. 

II. GREEK STEM-ADJECTIVES. 

\ 409. 1. Greek stem-adjectives are derived sometimes from known 
Greek roots ; as, Zw-dc, alive, from -y/ £a, £b, to live ; but more fre- 
quently from unknown roots ; as, Ka/l-dc, good ; Kafc-6g, bad. 

2. The Greek stem-adjectives which occur in English are found 
only in compound words ; as, Cal, good, in caligraphy ; cac, bad, in 
cacophony ; is, equal, in isonomy ; ne, new (compare Latin nov, En- 
glish new), in neology ; or in words with prefixes ; as, Cryph, y hid- 
den," in apocrypha. 

III. GREEK STE M-S UBSTANTIVES. 

§ 410. The Greek stem-substantives which occur in English may 
be distributed as follows : 

1. From known Greek roots ; as, Lobe, from -y/ lep, lop, " to peel ;" 
ode, from -y/ aed, oed, " to sing ;" plague, from -y/ plag, " to smite ;" 
pore, from -y/ par, por, "to pass through;" rhomb, from -y/ rhemb, 
rhomb, " to turn round ;" sphinx, from -y/ sphing, " to squeeze ;" 
strophe, from -y/ straph, stroph, " to turn ;" fo?ne, from -y/ tern, frwra, 
" to cut ;" tone, from -y/ tan, ton, " to stretch ;" trope, from -y/ Zrop, 
trop, " to turn ;" type, from -y/ typ, " to smite." 

2. From unknown Greek roots ; as, Bomb, choir, chord, lynx, lyre 9 
myth, sphere. 

3. Stem-substantives, whether from known or unknown Greek 



430 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

roots, involved in words formed with suffixes, formed with prefixes, 
or compounded ; as, Log, " word," " discourse" (from -y/ leg, log), in 
logical, pro/cgne, philo/og-ue ; ac, " point," in acme, acrostic. 

Greek words adopted in English, as a general rule, drop their 
tlexion-endings ; as, Chord, graphic, aeronaut. But to this there are 
many exceptions. 

1. Many Greek words retain in English a mute e; as, Tome, ce- 
drine, misanthrope ; or a mute ue ; as, Prologue, demagogue. 

2. Some Greek words retain their flexion-endings in English, viz. : 
(1.) s, the nominative ending of the imparisyllahic declension; 

as, Sphinx, lynx. 

(2.) os, the masculine termination of the parisyllahic declension ; 
as, Chaos, logos. 

(3.) e, the feminine termination of the parisyllahic declension ; as, 
Apocope ; or a, the same Latinized ; as, Hyperbola. 

(4.) on, plural a, the neuter termination of the parisyllahic declen- 
sion ; as, Phenomenon, plural phenomena ; apocrypha. 

IV. GREEK DERIVATIVE WORDS WITH SUFFIXES. 

§ 411. The primary derivatives are formed from the root or stem 
by a single suffix ; as, Poet, poesy, poem, all from -y/ poe ; chrism, 
Christ, both from -y/ chri ; archaic, archaism, archive, all from the 
stem-noun dp%rj. 

The secondary derivatives are formed from other derivatives ; 
as, Poetic, poetical, poetically, from poet, a derivative noun ; baptist, 
baptism, baptistery, from baptize, a derivative verb. 

The primary derivatives include, 

1 . Derivative verbs in ize, from verbs, and denoting repetition or 
intensity ; as, Baptize, from -y/ baph, bapt : or from nouns, and form- 
ing factitives ; as, Grecize, to render Grecian. 

2. Derivative adjectives : 

(1.) In ic, from verbs, and denoting capacity or adaptation; as, 
Graphic, from -y/ graph : or from nouns, and denoting relation ; as, 
Cubic, relating to a cube. 

(2.) In id, with a preceding union-vowel oid, from nouns, and de- 
noting similarity ; as, Conoid, paraboloid. 

(3.) In ine, from nouns, and forming hylonymics ; as, Cedrine, 
made of cedar. 

(4.) In mon, forming intransitive adjectives ; as, Gnomon, from 
-y/ gno. Compare mnemonics, pneumonic. 



DERIVATION. 431 

(5.) In r, forming 1 adjectives ; as the adjectives from which are 
formed acrostic, necrology. 

(6.) In t, te, from verbs, and forming passive verbal adjectives ; as, 
Christ (literally " anointed"), from -y/ chri, chris ; antidote, from -y/ do. 

3. Derivative concrete substantives: 

(1.) In ad or ade, forming concrete names of number ; as. Monad, 
decade. Also nomad, from -y/ nem, nom. 

(2.) In ad or id, forming names of nymphs ; as, Naiad, Nereid ; or 
names of poems ; as, Iliad, JEneid. 

(3.) In al, with uncertain significancy ; as, Phial, from -\/ pi ; scan- 
dal, from -y/ scad, scand. 

(4.) In an, denoting the instrument; as, Organ, from -y/ erg, org; 
tympan, from -y/ typ, tymp : or forming gentile nouns ; as, Sardian. 
Also orphan, ptisan. 

(5.) In ee, forming names of prosodical feet ; as, Spondee, from 
■y/ spend, spond ; trochee, from threch, throch. 

(6.) In ene, forming gentile nouns ; as, Damascene. 

(7.) In er, denoting the personal agent, or something conceived of 
as such ; as, Air, from -y/ a ; ether, from -y/ aeth. 

(8.) In ite or ot, forming gentile nouns ; as, Abderite, Helot. 

(9.) In ine, forming gentile nouns ; as, Sardine. 

(10.) In mate, ma, me, m, before another suffix mat, forming pass- 
ive concretes ; as, Climate, from -y/ clin ; dogma, from -y/ doc ; scheme, 
from -y/ sech, sche ; anagram, from -y/ graph. 

(11.) In me; as, Gnome, from -y/ gno. 

(12.) In on; as in tectonic, from -y/ tec, tect. 

(13.) In te, t, denoting the personal agent ; as, Poet, from -y/ poe; 
prophet ; athlete. 

(14.) In ter, denoting the personal agent, or something conceived 
of as such ; as, Crater, from -y/ era ; psalter, from -y/ psal. 

(15.) In tery, denoting the instrument ; as, Cautery, from -y/ cau ; 
psaltery, from -\f psal. 

(16.) In tor, denoting the personal agent ; as in rhetoric, historic. 

4. Derivative abstract substantives : 

(1.) In sis, sy, se, s ; as, Basis, from -y/ ba ; heresy, from -y/ haere ; 
phase, from -y/ pha ; syntax, from -y/ tag. 
(2.) In ia, y ; as in Apona, logomachy. 

The secondary derivatives are formed from the root or stem by 
affixing two or more suffixes. The following are examples : 
Baptist, from baptize, and baptize, from -y/ bap, bapt. 
Baptism, from baptize, and baptize, from -y/ bap, bapt. 



432 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Christianize, from Christian, and Christian, from Christ, and Christ, 
from -\/ chri, chris. 

Dogmatic, from dogma, and dogma, from -y/ Joe. 

Climacter, from climax, and climax, from climat, and climat, from 

V. GREEK DERIVATIVE WORDS WITH PREFIXES. 

§ 412. Under this head we include Greek compounds whose first 
member is a particle of place, or a particle denoting negation, dete- 
rioration, or the like. 

There are three species of these derivatives to be clearly distin- 
guished from each other: (1.) Where the particle is a preposition, 
used in its original character as an adverb of place ; as, Apocope ; 
(2.) where the particle is a preposition, used as a preposition, with 
its complement; as, Pericranium; (3.) where the particle is an ad- 
verb of negation, or the like ; as, Anarchy, euphony. 

Many persons well acquainted with Greek fail to derive the full 
advantage of their knowledge from not analyzing the Greek com- 
pounds found in the English language. To such, it is thought, the 
following investigation of the force of the Greek prefixes found in 
English may be of service. An intelligent use of words is certainly 
desirable for every educated person. Something, also, may be gain- 
ed by scientific arrangement. 

The prefixes denoting place, although sometimes employed here 
as prepositions with their complements, are originally and properly 
adverbs. 

1. Amphi or amphis, Greek djitpi or dfupig, iEolic dinri= Sanscrit 
api ; Latin ambi, amb, am, an; Old German umpi ; German um; An- 
glo-Saxon ymbe, ymb, embe, emb (connected with Sanscrit ubhau, 
Greek a^w, Latin ambo, Gothic ba, both). 

(1.) On both sides ; as, Amphibrach, short on both sides, a poetic 
foot consisting of a short, a long, and a short ; amphisbcena, moving 
either way foremost, the name of an animal so moving. 

(2.) About, around ; as, Greek dfMptdeG), to bind about. No exam- 
ple ocours in English. 

2. An before vowels, or a before consonants, Greek dv, d= San- 
scrit an, a ; Latin in ; German un ; English in and un (connected 
with Greek dvev, German ohne, both signifying without) ; denoting 
negation ; as, Anarchy, want of government ; ambrosia, an imaginary 
food supposed to confer immortality ; atom, an indivisible particle ; 
abyss, a bottomless gulf. 

3. Ana before consonants, or an before vowels, Greek dvd y dv— 






DERIVATION. 433 

Gothic ana, German an, Anglo-Saxon and English on (connected 
with Greek dvcj, above). 

(1.) Up, upward; as, Anadromous, running up ; anagoge, a leading 
of the mind upward. 

(2.) Over, about ; as, Anatreptic, overturning. 

(3.) Back, in a contrary direction ; as, Anacamptic, reflected, turned 
hack. 

(4.) Back, to the original state ; as, Anatomy, the dissecting of an 
animal body into its constituent parts ; analysis, the separation of a 
compound body into its constituent parts. 

(5.) Back, anew, again; as, Anadiplosis, the use of the same word 
at the end of one clause and the beginning of another. 

(6.) Away ; as, Anachoret, a hermit, recluse. 

4. Anti, Greek dvri=z Sanscrit ati, Latin ante, Gothic and and anda, 
Anglo-Saxon and and on, German and, ant, ent, English an in answer. 

(1.) Before, over against ; as, Greek avritiEi\Lat, to lie over against. 
No example occurs in English. 

(2.) Against, in opposition to ; as, Antipode, having the feet direct- 
ly opposite ; antipathy, opposite feeling. Also as a preposition, with 
its complement ; as, Antiasthmatic, good against the asthma. 

(3.) Denoting correspondence ; as, Antitype, a figure corresponding 
to its pattern. 

(4.) Denoting alternation or reciprocity; as, Antiphony, alternate 
or reciprocal singing ; antistrophe, reciprocal conversion. 

(5.) Denoting exchange; as, Antiptosis, the exchange of one case 
for another. 

5. Apo, Greek airo — Sanscrit apa and ava, Latin ah, Gothic af, 
German ah, Anglo-Saxon and English of. 

(1 .) From, off; as, Apocope, the cutting off of the last letter or sylla- 
ble of a word; apology, a speaking one's self off, a defense in words. 

(2.) Away ; as, Apostrophe, a turning away. 

(3.) Out; as, Apozem, a decoction; apologue, a saying out, a full 
narration. 

(4.) Down ; as, Apoplexy, a striking down. 

(5.) Denoting privation or negation; as, Apocalypse, an uncover- 
ing, revelation. 

6. Cata, Greek Kara. 

(1.) Down, downward; as, Catarrh, a flowing down. 

(2.) Against, as a preposition, with its complement; as, Catabap- 
tist, one who opposes baptism. 

(3.) Upside down; as, Catastrophe, a turning upside down, over- 
throw. 

E E 



434 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

(4.) Denoting distribution, as a preposition, with its complement ? 
as, Catamenia, monthly courses. 

(5.) Denoting perversion ; as, Catachresis, wrong use. 

7. Dia, Greek &a=Latin dis (connected with Greek dvo), Latin 
duo, English two). 

(1.) In two, asunder, apart ; as, Diaresis, the resolution of a diph- 
thong. 

(2.) Through; as, Diameter, a line drawn through the centre. 

(3.) Thoroughly ; as, Diagnostic, distinguishing, characteristic. 

(4.) Between, denoting reciprocity ; as, Dialogue, conversation be. 
tween two or more. 

8. Dys, Greek 6vc = Sanscrit dus, Gothic tus. 

(1.) Badly, with difficulty ; as, Dyspepsy, difficulty of digestion. 
(2.) Denoting want or absence ; as, Dysorexy, want of appetite. 

9. Ec before a consonant, or ex before a vowel, Greek en, e|=. 
Sanscrit wahis, Latin e, ex, Gothic ut, German aus, English out. 

(1.) Out; as, Eclogue, a selection; exanthema, an eruption. 
(2.) Away ; as, Eclipse, a failure. 

10. .Era, Greek ei>=Latin irc, German in, English z'n. 
(1.) In, on; as, Enclitic, leaning on. 

(2.) Among, as a preposition, with its complement; as, Endemic, 
among the people. 

(3.) Into; as, Enallage, the change of one into another. 

1 1 . Epi, Greek em — Sanscrit abhi, Gothic bi, German bei, En- 
glish by. 

(1.) On, upon ; as, Epigram, sua inscription. Also as a preposi- 
tion, with its complement ; as, Epitaph, an inscription on a sepulchre. 
(2.) To, unto ; as, Epistle, a writing sent to a person. 
(3.) In addition to; as, Epilogue, a conclusion. 

12. Eu, Greek ev, signifying well; as, Euphony, agreeableness of 
sound. 

13. Hama or a, Greek ap,a, a, d=z Sanscrit sa, sam, Gothic sama. 
(1.) Together with, as a preposition, with its complement ; as, Ha- 
madryad, a wood nymph, feigned to live and die with its tree. 

(2.) Denoting sameness; as, Adelphic, relating to brethren, or those 
from the same womb. 

14. Hyper, Greek vnep=z Sanscrit upari, Latin super, Gothic ufar, 
German iiber, English over. 

(1.) Over; as, Hyperaspist, one who holds a shield over another. 
(2.) Beyond, as a preposition, with its complement; as, Hypcrbo- 
rean, beyond the north. 

(3.) Denoting excess ; as, Hypercritic, an over-rigid critic. 



DERIVATION. 435 

15. Hypo, Greek vtto= Sanscrit upa, Latin sub, Gothic uf. 

(1.) Under ; as, Hypothesis, a placing under, a supposition. Also 
as a preposition, with its complement ; as, Hypogeum, the parts of 
a building under ground. 

(2.) Denoting deficiency ; as, Hyposulphurous, sulphurous, but hav- 
ing a less quantity of oxygen. 

16. Is, Greek elg (connected with Greek ev), signifying into; as, 
Isagogic, introductory. 

17. Meta, Greek /zeTa = German mit (connected with Sanscrit ma- 
dhya, Greek jxeaog, Latin medius, English middle). 

(1.) With; as, Metalepsis, participation, the name of a figure of 
speech. 

(2.) After, of place or time, as a preposition, with its complement:; 
as, Metacarpus, the part after or beyond the wrist ; metachronism, a 
placing after the time. 

(3.) Over ; as, Metaphor, a transfer; metabasis, a transition. 

(4.) Denoting change; as, Metamorphosis, a change of form or 
shape. 

(5.) Denoting transposition ; as, Metagrammatism, a transposition 
of letters ; metathesis, a transposition. 

18. Para before consonants, or par before vowels, Greek irapd, 
7rap= Sanscrit para, Gothic fra, English from. 

(1.) By, along with ; as, Parabole, a comparison ; paragraph, some- 
thing written near ; parathesis, apposition. Also as a preposition, 
with its complement ; as, Paranymph, a brideman ; parallel, by or 
near each other. 

(2.) To, toward; as, Paraclete, one that calls upon or exhorts an- 
other. 

(3.) Beyond; as, Paraphrase, an extended explanation; paragoge, 
an addition to the end of a word. Also as a preposition, with its 
complement ; as, Parapherna, what is over and above the dower. 

(4.) Denoting error ; as, Paraselene, a false moon ; paradox, a false 
opinion. 

19. Peri, Greek 7T£pi = Sanscrit pari, Latin per, Gothic fair, Ger- 
man ver. 

(1.) Around, about ; as, Periphery, the circumference of a circle ; 
periphrasis, circumlocution. Also as a preposition, with its comple- 
ment ; as, Pericranium, the membrane that invests the skull. 

(2.) Near, as a preposition, with its complement; as, Perigee^ 
point nearest the earth. 

20. Pro, Greek Trpd= Sanscrit pra, Latin pro,pr<B, Gothic faur, Ger- 
man vor, English for. 



436 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

(1.) Before, in place ; as, Prostyle, a range of columns in front. 
A] so as a preposition, with its complement ; as, Propolis, something 
before the city. 

(2.) Before, in time ; as, Prodrome, a forerunner; prolepsis, antic- 
ipation ; prophet ; prologue. Also as a preposition, with its com- 
plement ; as, Prochronism, the antedating of an event. 

(3.) Before, forth, in a metaphorical sense ; as, Problem, something 
set forth or proposed. 

21. Pros, Greek irpoc = Sanscrit prati. 

(1 .) Unto ; as, Prosthesis, the addition of a letter or syllable to the 
beginning of a word ; proselyte, one that comes over to another sect 
or party. 

(2.) In addition to ; as, Prosenneahedral, having nine faces on two 
adjacent parts of a crystal. 

22. Syn, before a labial sym, before I syl, before z or a double con- 
sonant sy, Greek ovv, av\i, avX, ov= Sanscrit sam, Latin con, Gothic 
ga, German and Anglo-Saxon ge. 

(1.) With, in company with; as, Symbol, that which compares with 
something else ; sympathy, feeling with another ; syzygy, conjunc- 
tion. 

(2.) Together, in a mass or body ; as, Synagogue, a bringing togeth- 
er ; synthesis, composition ; syllable, a taking together of letters. 

VI. GREEK COMPOUND WORDS IN ENGLISH. 

§ 413. The Greek language excels in compounds. The learned 
of Europe have been accustomed for centuries to borrow compound 
words from the Greek for terms of science. Hence, in English, 
Greek compound words are very numerous. 

In Greek compounds the union-vowel between the two members 
is commonly o, while in Latin compounds it is commonly t. Com- 
pare aeronaut, which is derived from the Greek, with aeriform, which 
is derived from the Latin. 

1 . Imperfect compositions ; as, Theanthrope (compare God-man) 
in theanthropism ; hermaphrodite, male and female ; dodeca, twelve, 
in dodecagon. These compounds are rare. 

2. Perfect compositions : (1.) where the first term is an adjective 
or a substantive in the genitive ; as, Cacodemon, democracy ; (2.) 
where the first term denotes an object ; as, Pedagogue, geography, 
sciagraphy, anthropophagi. 

3 . Inverted compositions ; as, Philology, philosophy, philanthropy, 
misanthrope. 



DERIVATION. 437 

There are derivatives from Greek compounds with various suffix- 
es ; as, Theanthropism, democratic, pedagogical, philosophical. 

VII. DISGUISED GREEK DERIVATIVES AND COM- 
POUNDS. 

§ 414. There are two classes of Greek words adopted in English 
which have been greatly mutilated or disguised. 

I. Certain ecclesiastical terms which passed early into the Teu- 
tonic languages from immediate contact with the Greek or Oriental 
Church ; as, Alms, bishop, devil, priest. 

II. Certain medical terms, which have been corrupted by the vul- 
gar ; as, Imposthume, megrim. 

1. Bishop (Anglo-Saxon biscop and bisceop, Dutch bisschop, German 
bischof, Swedish and Danish bishop ; also, Old French eveque, French 
eveque, Portuguese bispo, Spanish obispo, Italian vescovo, Latin epis- 
copus, Greek episkopos, compounded of epi, upon, over, and -\/ skep 9 
shop, to see), literally, an overseer. 

Note. — This word, although of Greek origin, is evidently derived 
to us from the Anglo-Saxon. 

2. Catarrh (French catarrhe, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian ca- 
larro ; also, German katarrh, Latin catarrhus, Greek katarrhous, com- 
pounded of kata, down, and -\/rhe, to flow), literally a flowing down, 

3. Imposthume (French aposteme, apostume, Portuguese and Span- 
ish apostema, Italian apostema, impostema, Latin apostema, Greek apo~ 
sterna, compounded of apo, from, off, and -y/ sta, to stand), a corrup- 
tion of aposteme, literally a standing off or separating. 

4. Megrim (French migr&ine, Portuguese and Spanish hemicrania., 
Italian emicrania, emigrania, Latin hemicranium, Greek hemikrania v 
compounded of hemi, half, and kranion, skull), a corruption of hemt- 
crany, a pain affecting half the head. 

5. Palsy (French paralysie, Portuguese paralisia, paralysia, parle- 
zia, Spanish paralisis, perlesia, Italian paralisia, Latin paralysis^ 
Greek paralusis, compounded of prefix para, -\/ lu, and suffix sis), a 
corruption of paralysis, literally a relaxation. 

6. Quinsy or squinancy (French esquinancie, Portuguese esquinan- 
cia, eschinancia, esquinencia, Spanish esquinancia, esquinencia, Italian 
squinanzia, Latin synanche, Greek sunagche, compounded of sun, with, 
together, and -\/ agch, to choke), an inflammation of the throat. 

7. Squirrel (French ecureuil, Latin sciuriolus, diminutive from sci- 
urus, Greek skiouros, compounded of Greek skia, a shade, and oura, 
a tail, as if having its tail for a shade), the name of an animal. 

8. Surgeon (Norman-French surigien, French chirurgien, Portu- 



438 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

guese surgiao, cirurgiao, Spanish cirujano, Italian chirurgo, Latin chi- 
rurgus, Greek cheirourgos, compounded of Greek cheir, a hand, and 
v" erg, to work), a corruption of chirurgeon, literally a hand-worker. 

HEBREW PORTION OF OUR LANGUAGE. 

§ 415. The Hebrew portion of our language includes, 

1. Hebrew or Phoenician words, which have come to us through 
the Greek and Latin, and perhaps also through the Anglo-Saxon ; 
as, Ass, bdellium, byssus. See § 416. 

II. Hebrew names of letters, months, measures of capacity, weights 
and coins, offices, celestial beings, sacred vestments, festivals, and 
some miscellaneous terms, which have been transferred into our 
common English version ; as, Aleph, Abib, homer, shekel, tirshatha, 
cherub, ephod, Sabbath, amen. 

III. Hebrew words which have passed to the Occidental nations 
in connection with religion, and have been modified in the Greek ; 
as, Jubilee, Pharisee, Essene. 

IV. Terms which have been adopted from the Rabbinic or later 
Hebrew, on account of the connection of Christian and Jewish learn- 
ing ; as, Mishna, Talmud, Metheg ; or the same with Occidental term- 
inations ; as, Rabbinism, Talmudist, Karaite. 

HEBREW OR PHOENICIAN WORDS THROUGH THE 
GREEK AND LATIN. 

§ 416. 1. Ass, a beast of burden. 

2. Bdellium, an aromatic gum. 

3. Byssus, fine linen or cotton. 

4. Camel, the name of an animal. 

5. Cane, a reed. 

6. Cassia, a sweet spice or aromatic bark. 

7. Cinnamon, an aromatic bark. 

8. Cumin or cummin, an aromatic plant. 

9. Ebon or ebony, a hard, valuable wood. 

10. Galban or galbanum, a resinous gum. 

11. Hyssop, an aromatic herb. 

12. Jasper, a hard, precious stone. 

13. Maltha, a kind of bitumen. 

14. Manna, a gum. 

15. Myrrh, an aromatic gum. 

16. Nitre, saltpetre. 

17. Sapphire, a hard, precious stone. 

18. Sycamine, a species of fig-tree. 



DERIVATION. 439 

P^jJFIXES AND SUFFIXES IN WORDS DERIVED FROM 
THE HEBREW AND CHALDAIC. 

^,417. 1. The prefix t, a common preformative in Hebrew and 
Chaldaic, is found in a few words ; as, Talmud, literally " doctrine," 
the body of Jewish doctrine ; Targum, literally " a translation," a 
Chaldaic translation or paraphrase of any part of the Old Testament. 

2. The prefix al, the Arabic definite article adopted in Hebrew, 
is found in the word algum or almug, a kind of costly wood. Also in 
the proper name Almodad. 

3. The suffix an, on, a common termination of Hebrew nouns, is 
found in the following words : Corban, literally " an offering," some- 
thing devoted to God; leviathan, literally "the winding one," the 
name of an animal ; Abaddon, literally " the destroyer," a reproach- 
ful epithet of Satan. Also in the proper names Dagon, etc. 

4. The suffix a or ah, the usual termination of feminine nouns in 
Hebrew and Chaldaic, is found in the following words : Cabala, lit- 
erally " tradition," a kind of mystical science among the Jews ; 
ephah, a Hebrew measure ; gerah, literally " a bean," a Hebrew 
weight ; masora, literally " tradition," a Jewish critical work on the 
Old Testament ; mishna, literally " a repetition," a digest of Jewish 
traditions; shittah, the acacia; seah, a Hebrew measure. 

5. The suffix im, the usual masculine plural termination of He- 
brew nouns, is found in the following words : Cherubim, cherubs ; 
elohim, literally "gods," used for the singular; nethinim, literally 
" offered ones," servants devoted to the service of the Jewish taber- 
nacle and temple ; purim, literally " lots," a festival of the Jews in 
commemoration of the lots cast by Haman ; seraphim, seraphs ; shit- 
tim, acacia logs ; targumim, targums ; teraphim, literally " givers of 
pleasures," household gods ; tummim or thummim, literally " perfec- 
tions ;" urim, literally "lights." Also in some proper names; as, 
Anakim, Avim, Chemarim, Cherathim, Emim, etc. 

6. The suffix in, the Chaldaic termination answering to the He- 
brew im, is found in upharsin, literally " and they are dividing it." 

7. The suffix oth, the usual feminine plural termination of Hebrew 
nouns, is found in the following words : Behemoth, literally " beasts," 
the plural of excellence ofbehemah, " a beast," used for the singular ; 
mazzaroth, literally, perhaps, "presagers," the signs of the zodiac; 
sabaoth, hosts. Also in some proper names ; as, Kerioth, Succoth, etc. 

8. The suffix i, denoting my in Hebrew, is found in a few words ,• 
as, Rabbi, literally " my rab or master ;" rabboni, literally " my great 
rab or master," both titles of honor in the Jewish schools. 



440 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

9. Some Hebrew words derived into the English language from 
the Greek have received Greek suffixes: (1.) ce ; as, Pharisee, lit- 
erally " separate," one of a particular sect among the Jews ; Saddu- 
cee, one of a particular sect among the Jews ; also in Maccabee, a 
surname of the sons of Mattathias, a Jewish family; (2.) ene ; as, 
Essene, "literally a "physician," one of a particular sect among the 
Jews; (3.) ism; as, Rabbinism, the doctrine of the rabbins; (4.) 
ist ; as, Rabbinist, a follower of the rabbins; Talmudist, one versed 
in the Talmud; Targumist, the writer of a Targum; (5.) ite; as, Ca~ 
raite, among the Jews, one that rejects the Talmud. 

FOREIGN WORDS. 

§ 418. Exotic or foreign terms from various living languages, ow- 
ing to civil, commercial, or literary intercourse, form a third constit- 
uent part or element of the present English language. 

Words, more or less numerous, have been borrowed from most of 
the nations with which we have any intercourse, to express objects 
or things common among them, or in which we have been instructed 
by them. The meaning of such words has often afterward been ex- 
tended. 

The classes of these words maybe arranged according to the prox- 
imity of the languages, beginning with the nearer, and passing to 
the more remote. 

The numerous proper names of persons and places among the va- 
rious nations and tribes of men, which are of course transferred, not 
translated, into our language, do not come here into consideration. 

1. Words borrowed from existing Celtic dialects, as Welsh or Cym- 
ric, Erse or Gaelic. The language of Britain was anciently Celtic. 

Bard, a Celtic minstrel ; a poet generally. 

Clan, a Gaelic tribe or race ; a sect or party, in contempt. 

Kilt, a short petticoat worn by the Highlanders of Scotland. 

Pibroch, a Highland air. 

Plaid, cloth worn by the Highlanders of Scotland ; an imitation 
of the same. 

Reel, a lively Scotch dance. 

These words are attributable to a later intercourse of the English 
people with the Celtic tribes, and are not to be confounded with 
Celtic words supposed to be amalgamated with Anglo-Saxon. 

2. Words borrowed from Gothic or Teutonic dialects, kindred to 
the Anglo-Saxon, as Danish, Dutch, German, Swedish. 

Boom, a sea-term for a long pole or spar. Dutch. 
Boor, a farmer, rustic. Dutch. 



DERIVATION. 44^ 

Bursch, a German University student. 

Guilder, a Dutch coin. 

Grave (in landgrave, margrave), a German count or earl. 

Schooner, a vessel with two masts. Dutch. 

Sloop, a vessel with one mast. Dutch. 

Stadtholder, a Dutch chief magistrate. 

Stiver, a Dutch coin. 

Waltz, a German dance. 

3. Words borrowed from the modern Latin languages. 
(1.) From the French : 

Belles-lettres, polite literature. 

Bonmot, a jest. 

Bon vivant, a luxurious liver. 

Bouquet, a bunch of flowers. 

Depot, a place for starting or stopping on a rail-road. 

Eclat, burst of applause, splendor. 

These words usually vacillate between the French and a more 
Anglicized pronunciation. 

(2.) From the Spanish and Portuguese : 

Caste, an hereditary order among the Hindoos. 

Cortes, an assembly of the states in Spain or Portugal. 

Don and Donna, the title of a gentleman and lady in Spain. 

Embargo, a restraint on the sailing of ships. 

Infante and Infanta, a son and a daughter of the King of Spain, 
when not the heir or heiress apparent. 

Musquito, a species of gnat. 

Platinum, a metal discovered in the mines of Choco, in Peru. 

(3.) From the Italian : 

Dilettante, a lover of the fine arts. 

Doge, the chief magistrate in Venice or Genoa. 

Macaroni, a paste formed chiefly of flour, and moulded into strings 5 
used for food. 

Sketch, an outline or general delineation of any thing. 

Piano-forte, a keyed musical instrument. 

Piaster, an Italian coin. 

Piazza, a covered walk, supported by pillars. 

Stanza, a strophe. 

Also numerous words in o, the common termination of substan- 
tives and adjectives in Italian : Adagio, allegro, arpeggio, falsetto t 
fresco, gusto, intaglio, sirocco, solo, stiletto, stucco, virtuoso, volcano. 

4. "Words borrowed from the Slavonic languages, as Russian, Ser 
vian, Polish, Bohemian. 



442 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Czar, a title of the Emperor of Russia. 

Hospodar, the Governor of Moldavia or Wallachia, appointed by 
the Porte. Slavonic. 

Ukase, an edict of the Emperor of Russia. 
Waiwode, a prince, magistrate. Russian and Polish. 

5. Words borrowed from the Armenian and Georgian languages 
Vartabed, an Armenian ecclesiastic. 

6. Words borrowed from the modern Persian. 
Bazar, an Oriental market-place. 

Pagoda, an Oriental temple for idols. 

Shah, a title of the King of Persia. 

Subah, an East Indian province. 

Subahdar, the viceroy of an East Indian province. 

Zemindar, an East Indian landholder under the Mogul empire. 

7. Words borrowed from the modern Sanscrit languages. 
Banian, an Ea^t Indian fig-tree. 

Brahmin, a priesi of Brahma, the divinity of the Hindoos. 
Gooroo, a priest among the Sikhs of India. 

Purana, a species of mythological or legendary work among the 
Hindoos. 

Shaster, a sacred book among the Hindoos. 

Veda, a more ancient and sacred book among the Hindoos. 

8. Words borrowed from the modern Arabic. 

Amber, a hard, semi-pellucid substance, which possesses electrical 
properties. 

Azimuth, an astronomical term. 

Camphor, a resin from certain Asiatic trees. 

Gazelle, a species of antelope. 

Giraffe, a camelopard. 

Nabob, a deputy in India, subordinate to the subahdar ; a man of 
great wealth. 

Nadir, the point opposite to the zenith. 

Salam, the Oriental salutation. 

Sunna, the oral tradition of the Mohammedans. 

Tamarind, the East Indian date-tree. 

Tariff, a list of duties on goods. 

Zenith, the point directly over head. 

Also Cadi, caliph, chemistry, coffee, cotton, dragoman* emir, fetwa. 
hajji, harem, hegira, imam., Islam, Islamism, kebla, Koran, mameluke, 
minaret, molla, mosque, Moslem, mufti, Mussulman, rais, ramadan, 
sheikh, sherif, sultan, wadi, vizier. 

Also many terms commencing with al, the Arabic definite article ; 



DERIVATION. 443 

as, Albicore, alcaid, alcanna, alchemy, alcohol, alcor, alcove, Aldebaran, 
alembic, algebra, alhenna, alkahest, alkali, Alkoran, Almagest, almanac, 
almucantar. 

9. Words borrowed from the Mongolian stock of languages. 
Chop, a Chinese mark or stamp. 

Hong, the Chinese name of a foreign factory. 
Khan, a Tartar prince. 

King, one of the five ancient sacred books among the Chinese. 
Lama, a Thibetan priest. 
Tea, a Chinese plant. 

Also Bohea, hyson, oolong, pouchong, souchong, names of particular 
teas. 

10. Words borrowed from the African stock of languages : Chim- 
panzee, gnu, koba, korin, zebra, zerda. 

1 1 . Words borrowed from the American stock of languages : Ca- 
cao, cacique, calumet, cariboo, chocolate, hackmatack, hommoc, hominy, 
inca or ynca, maize, moccasin, Mohawk, moose, mush, papoose, potato y 
powwow, quahaug, sachem, sagamore, sagoin, samp, sapajo, squash f 
squaw, succotash, tobacco, tomahawk, tomato, wampum, vjigwam, Yankee; 
also Carcajou, condor, lama, pecan, raccoon. 

12. Words borrowed from the Oceanic stock of languages. 

(1.) From the Malay : Bamboo, gong, orang-outang, ratan, sago. 
(2.) From the Polynesian languages : Tabu, tattoo. 

ENGLISH WORDS OF MIXED ORIGIN. 

§ 419. Words not reducible to either of the three preceding heads 
form a fourth constituent part or element of the English language. 
These include proper English words of mixed origin, and malforma- 
tions and hybrid words. 

Proper English Words of Mixed Origin. — There is a large class 
of English words, rightly formed, whose root or essential part is 
of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, or foreign origin, but whose inflection 
or termination is Teutonic. These are peculiarly English words, 
as the English language freely intermingles Latin and Teutonic el- 
ements in this way, while other languages do not. Here are in- 
cluded, 

1. Latin or foreign words with Teutonic inflections, to wit : 

All genitives and plurals of Latin nouns; as, Muse's, muses y 
choir's, choirs ; hero's, heroes; tribe's, tribes ; face's, faces. 

All comparatives in er and superlatives in est of Latin adjectives ; 
as, Firmer, firmest ; grander, grandest. 

All participles in mg and ed from Latin verbs ; as, Ceding, ceded. 



444 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

All past tenses in ed and inflected persons of Latin verbs ; as. 

Ceded, cedest, cedes, cededst. 

2. Latin or foreign words with Teutonic suffixes, to wit: 
Verbs in en from adjectives of Latin origin ; as, Chasten, from chaste. 
Adjectives in some from substantives and verbs of Latin origin; 

as, Humorsome, tendsome. 

Adjectives in ful from substantives of Latin origin ; as, Ireful, fate- 
ful, artful, useful, merciful, bountiful. 

Adjectives in less from Latin substantives ; as, Causeless, nerve- 
less, artless, useless, motionless, merciless. 

Substantives in er of the active subject from many Latin verbs ; 
as, Tender, " one that tends ;" vexer, seducer, subscriber. 

Verbal substantives in ing from many Latin verbs ; as, Tending, 
vexing, visiting. 

Abstract substantives in hood from adjectives and attributives of 
Latin origin ; as, Falsehood, priesthood. 

Abstract substantives in dom from attributives of Latin origin ; as, 
Martyrdom, dukedom, peerdom, popedom, princedom, Christendom. 

Abstract substantives in ship from attributives of Latin origin ; as, 
Rectorship, survivorship, vicarship, rivalship, suretiship. 

Abstract substantives in ness, denoting the quality, from Latin 
stem-adjectives; as, Chasteness, clearness, crudeness, firmness, rude- 
ness; also from participial adjectives of Latin origin; as, Aptness, 
closeness, strictness, politeness, fixedness ; also from derivative adjec- 
tives in able, acious, al, aneous, ant, ent, ible, ic, ical, id, He, ive, ous, 
uous, und ; as, Durableness, voraciousness, fatalness, spontaneousness, 
valiantness, presentness, sensibleness, publicness, sphericalness, vivid- 
ness, servileness, passiveness, pompousness, superfiuousness, roundness. 

Adverbs in ly formed from the same adjectives as above ; as, 
Chastely, clearly, crudely , firmly , rudely, aptly, closely, strictly , politely , 
fixedly, durably, voraciously, fatally, spontaneously, valiantly, present- 
ly, sensibly , publicly , spherically, vividly, servilely, passively, pompously, 
superfluously, roundly. 

3. Latin or foreign words with Teutonic prefixes ; as, Misform, 
misuse, misdate, misjoin, misjudge, uncertain, unchaste, undetermined, 
unlawful, unceasing. 

Malformations and Hybrid Words. — 1 . It is contrary to the genius 
of the English language to add Latin suffixes to Teutonic words, or 
to compound a Latin or Greek with a Teutonic word ; but we have 
examples of both. 

(1.) Teutonic words with Latin suffixes; as, Eatable, drinkable, 



DERIVATION. 445 

goddess, shepherdess, murderess, huntress, songstress, blustrous, burden- 
ous, murderous, wondrous, which have been adopted into our Ian' 
guage, and are approved. 

(2.) Hybrid words, Latin or Greek and English ; as, Mobocracy, 
popalatry, slavocracy,fishify, happify, mystify, which are disapproved. 

2. It is also contrary to the genius of the Latin language to add 
Greek suffixes or prefixes to Latin words, or to compound a Greek 
with a Latin word ; but we have examples of both. 

(1.) Latin words with Greek suffixes or prefixes; as, Authorize, 
mineralize, realize, antacid, anti-social, which are approved. 

(2.) Hybrid words, Greek and Latin ; as, Bigamy, mineralogy, mon- 
oculous, which are approved ; and omnigraph, omnigraphic, which are 
disapproved. 

DOUBLE FORMS IN LANGUAGE. 

§ 420. Besides the ordinary modes of forming words, namely, by 
germination or reduplication ; as, Sing-song ; by internal change of 
vowel ; as, Song; by a prefix ; as, Besing (in German) ; by a suffix ; 
as, Singer ; by composition ; as, Singing-master ; and by inflection ; 
as, Singest (all having relation to the same stem-verb or root, sing), 
there is another process for forming words, deserving of more atten- 
tion than has usually been paid to it. 

The process alluded to is the development of double forms. The 
same identical word, that is, the same root with the same prefix or 
suffix, or other modification, sometimes acquires two forms, to which, 
in the course of time, different meanings are attached. 

This bipartition of the form of a word, or development of a new 
or second form, is sometimes of long standing, and sometimes of 
comparatively recent origin. Thus, 

1. Beam and boom are both ultimately derived from Gothic bagms, 
a tree ; the former through Anglo-Saxon beam, and the latter, as a 
marine term, through Dutch boom. 

2. Cadence or cadency and chance are both ultimately derived from 
Latin cado, to fall ; the former through French cadence, and the lat- 
ter through Norman-French cheaunce. This bipartition is common 
to the French and the English. 

3. Canker and cancer are both derived from Latin cancer, a crab ; 
the former retaining the original hard sound of Latin c, and the lat- 
ter adopting a soft sound. 

4. Cant and chant are both derived from Latin canto, to sing. This 
bipartition exists only in modern English. 

5. Capital or chapiter and chapter are both derived from Latin cap- 



446 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

itellum or capitulum, a diminutive from caput, the head. The two 
forms originated in ancient Latin, but the difference of meaning in 
subsequent times. 

6. Chart and card are both derived from Latin charta, paper. The 
distinction exists only in English. 

7. Compute and count are both derived from Latin computo, to reck- 
on. The distinction runs through the modern Latin languages. 

8. Declination and declension are both from Latin declinatio, a bend- 
ing down. The distinction exists only in English. 

9. Facility and faculty are both abstract nouns formed from the 
Latin adjective facilis, easily done. This bipartition of form and 
meaning took place in ancient Roman times, and has existed more 
than two thousand years. 

10. Fidelity and fealty are both from Latin fidelitas, the abstract 
of adjective^/u/eZz's, faithful. This bipartition has arisen in Romance 
or modern Latin times. 

1 1 . Particle and parcel are both derived from Latin particula, a 
small part. 

12. Propriety and property are both formed from Latin proprietas, 
attribute or quality. This bipartition exists only in modern English. 

13. Provident and prudent are both participial adjectives from Latin 
provideo, to look forward. The distinction has existed from the ear- 
liest Latin times. 

14. Ratio, ration, and reason, are all from Latin ratio, a reckoning. 

15. Shell and scale both accord in German schale, which has both 
meanings. 

16. Skiff and ship are both from Gothic skip. 

17. Swallow and swill hoth. accord in Anglo-Saxon swelgan, which 
has both meanings. 

18. Tenth and tithe are both derivatives from Anglo-Saxon tyn, 
ten. 

19. Appraise and apprise or apprize, "to set a value in pursuance 
of authority ;" having as yet in usage the same meaning. 

Appraise (pronounced appraze), French apprecier (compare Nor- 
man-French appreisours, " appraisers"), Spanish apreciar, Italian ap- 
prezzare, Low Latin apprecio, compounded of ad and pretium, price, 
literally " to set a value." This appears to be the original and prop- 
er form. 

The other form, apprise or apprize (both pronounced apprize), 
seems to have arisen from our referring in thought to English price 
{ = Latin pretium) ; compare advise from advice. 

20. Assay, " to test the purity of metals," and essay, " to try or en- 



DERIVATION. 447 

deavor," both from Norman-French essoyer, French essayer, Portu- 
guese ensaiar, Spanish ensayar, Italian assaggiare. 

Assay is the more ancient form, as appears from the Italian as- 
saggiare, and predominated in Old English. The more modern form 
essay has prevailed altogether in French, but only partially in En- 
glish. 

21. Procurator and proctor. 

Procurator, French procureur, Portuguese and Spanish procurador, 
Italian procuratore, Latin -procurator, literally " one who takes care of 
any thing for another," compounded of pro and curator, was much 
used by the old English writers. 

Proctor is an abridged form of procurator, but used already in the 
sixteenth century. 

22. Procuracy and proxy. 

Procuracy, literally "the taking care of any thing for another," 
compounded of pro and curacy, was much used by the old English 
writers. 

Proxy is an abridged form of procuracy, but used already in the 
sixteenth century. 

23. Purpose, " to intend," and propose, " to offer for consideration," 
both from French proposer, Italian proporre and proponere, Latin pro- 
pono, compounded of pro and pono, "to place before." 

24. Recognize and reconnoiter. 

Recognize, " to know again," French reconnoitre, Portuguese recon- 
hecer, Spanish reconocer, Italian riconoscere, Latin recognoscere, com- 
pounded of re and cognosco. 

Reconnoiter, a form derived more recently from the French, and 
taken in a military sense. 

25. Tone and ton. 

Tone, French ton, Portuguese torn or tono, Spanish tono, Italian 
tuono, Latin tonus, Greek tonos, " sound." 

Ton, more recently from the French, and in the French sense, 
" fashion." 

26. Travail, "to toil or labor," and travel, "to walk or journey," 
both from French travailler, Italian travagliare, Spanish trabajar. 

Travail is the older form, and predominated in Old English ; but 
the two forms are now clearly distinguished in usage. 

ACCIDENTAL COINCIDENCES IN THE FORMATION OF 

WORDS. 

§ 421. 1. Comate (Latin stem com, " hair," and suffix ate), hairy. 
Comate (prefix co for con, and mate), fellow-companion. 



448 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

2. Counter (count, and suffix er), one that counts. 
Counter (coun for con, and ter for tra), in opposition. 

3. Divers (dive, suffix er, and plural termination s), persons that 
dive. 

Divers (Latin prefix di for dis, -y/ vert, and participial termination 
t), several, sundry. 

4. Elder (Anglo-Saxon ellarn, German holder or hollunder), a kind 
of tree. 

Elder (comparative degree of old), older, opposed to younger. 

5. Flatter (comparative degree of flat), more flat. 
Flatter (flat, and suffix er), that which makes flat. 
Flatter (French flatter), to gratify. 

6. Former (form, and suffix er), one that forms. 

Former (Anglo-Saxon forma, " early," and er, the termination of 
the comparative degree), prior. 

7. Founder (found, and suffix er), a caster. 
Founder (French fondre), to trip, fall. 

Founder (found, and suffix er), one that lays the basis. 

8. Fuller (comparative degree of full), more full. 
Fuller (full, and suffix er), one that fulls cloth. 

9. Guardship (guard, and suffix ship), the state of a guard. Ob- 
solete. 

Guard-ship (guard, and sAzp), a vessel of war stationed in a harbor 
or river. 

10. Horse-boat (horse in dative relation, and boat), a boat for car- 
rying horses. 

Horse-boat (horse in instrumental relation, and boat), a boat moved 
by horses. 

11. Real (Latin stem re, " thing," and suffix al), relating to a thing. 
Real (Latin stem re, for reg, " king," and suffix al), the name of a 

Spanish coin. 

12. Regale (Latin stem reg, "king," and suffix ale), the preroga- 
tive of monarchy. 

Regale (prefix re, and gale), to refresh. 

13. Render (rend, and suffix er), one that rends. 
Render (French rendre), to return. 

14. Repent (Latin -y/ rep, and suffix ent), creeping. 

Repent (Latin prefix re, and derivative verb penit), to feel regret. 
(., 15. Tender (tend, and suffix er), one that tends. 
Tender (French tendre, Latin tendere), to offer. 
Tender (French tendre, Latin tener), soft. 
16. Undated (Latin stem wnd, " wave," and suffix ated), waved. 



DERIVATION. 449 

Undated (prefix un, and dated), not having the time specified. 
17. Wages (wage, and termination of third person es), ventures. 
Wages (French gages), hire, reward. 

Examples like these, with their analogies, may lead young minds 
to pay more attention to the derivation and composition of words. 

ILLUSIVE ETYMOLOGIES. 

§ 422. Foreign words, when received into any tongue, often pre- 
sent a new and plausible, although false and unfounded, etymology. 
This takes place sometimes without any violence to the word itself, 
but more frequently from some change or corruption in the pronun- 
ciation or orthography. The word appears, as it were, new coined. 
This attraction or assimilation is perfectly natural ; as, on the one 
hand, it avoids uncouth, barbarous sounds, which are offensive to 
the ear ; and, on the other, it helps the memory, by associating the 
word with some other already known. As this is a subject of some 
importance to the philologist, we propose to give examples. 

1. Caption, in the sense of a title, inscription, appears to the common 
apprehension to be derived from Latin caput, the head, as if a head- 
ing ; whereas it is derived from Latin capio, to take or comprehend, 
as if a summary. This use of the word is probably an Americanism. 

2. Cowcumber, so written and pronounced (compare Anglo-Saxon 
cucumer, from Latin cucumer), is associated in our minds with cow, 
the name of the animal ; whereas ou or ow in English is the regular 
equivalent for an Anglo-Saxon u ; as, Anglo-Saxon cu, English cow; 
Anglo-Saxon ful, English/bwZ; Anglo-Saxon ihu, English t hou ; An- 
glo-Saxon tun, English town. There is no sufficient reason for chang- 
ing either the orthography or the pronunciation of this word, as writ- 
ten above. 

3. Cray -fish or craw-fish is so written as if compounded offish; 
whereas it is the Old English crevis, French ecrevisse. 

4. Delight is so written as if compounded of the Latin prefix de 
and the English noun light ; whereas it comes from French delice, 
Latin delici<E. Compare delicious, delicate. 

5. A. font or fount of types is in our conceptions confounded with 
font ox fount, from Latin fons, a fountain ; whereas it denotes liter- 
ally a casting, from Latin fundo, to found or cast. 

6. The frontispiece of a book is usually conceived of as a piece or 
picture in front of a book; whereas it denotes literally & front view, 
from Low Latin frontispicium, the fore-front of a house. 

7. Jerusalem artichoke is a corruption of girasol artichqjte. Com- 
pare French girasol, Italian girasole, literally turning toward the sun. 

Ff 



450 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

8. July-flower is a corruption of gilly -flower. Compare Old En- 
glish gillofre, Scotch gerafloure, French giroflee, Latin caryophyllum, 
literally nut-leaf. 

9. Loadstone appears to our minds to be connected with load, a 
burden ; whereas it is derived from the verb lead. Compare the 
obsolete words loadstar, loadsman, loadmanage. 

10. Madcap appears to be compounded with cap or caput, the head 
(compare cap-a-pie, from head to foot) ; whereas it is compounded of 
mad and cap, having a fool's cap on. 

11. Preface appears to be compounded of face ; whereas it is de- 
rived from Latin prcefatio, a speaking before. 

12. Rhyme is so written as if connected with rhythm, Greek rhuth- 
mos, regular flow of language ; whereas it is derived from Anglo- 
Saxon rim, German reim, having much the same meaning. 

13. Shamefaced, as if having a modest face, is probably a corruption 
for shame fast ; compare Old English shamefast in Chaucer and Frois- 
sart, and Anglo-Saxon sceamfast, protected by shame. 

14. Shotover, the name of a hill in Oxfordshire, England, is a cor- 
ruption of French chateau vert, green castle. 

15. Sparrowgrass, as if compounded of sparrow and grass, is a cor- 
ruption of spar age or asparagus, Latin asparagus. 

16. Wiseacre, as if compounded of acre, is a corruption of German 
weissager, a diviner, a pretender to wisdom. 

17. Belly-bound, for French belle et bonne, fair and good, a species 
of apple. 

18. Bell Savage, for la belle sauvage, the wild beauty, the picture 
on the sign of an old public house in London. 

19. Bully -rujfian, a corruption by English sailors of Bellerophon, 
the name of a French ship of war. 

20. Fulsome, to the common apprehension compounded of full 
and some, as if full to satiety, cloying ; whereas it is compounded of 
Anglo-Saxon ful, foul, and some, as if nauseous, odious. 

21. Island, so written, as if compounded of Norman-French isle 
(Latin insula), and Anglo-Saxon land ; whereas it is the same word 
with Anglo-Saxon ealand, German eiland, water-land, compounded 
of Anglo-Saxon ea, water, and land. See Dr. Noah Webster. The 
orthography island is a hybrid word or malformation in language. 

22. Sandy Acre, for Saint Diacre, holy deacon, a parish in Derby- 
shire. 

23. Surname, sometimes written sirname, as if the name of one \y 
sire; whe^as it is derived from French surnom, additional name. 

24. Righteous, so written, as if formed by means of the Latin suffix 



DERIVATION. 451 

eous; whereas the word comes from Anglo-Saxon rihtwis, Old En- 
glish rightwys, skillful or expert in right. 

25. Yeoman, plural yeomen, as if compounded with man ; whereas 
the word comes from Anglo-Saxon gemcene, German gemein, common, 
as if a commoner. 

26. Lieutenant. This word has, from the earliest times, been 
written or pronounced leftenant, supported, without doubt, by the 
idea that the second in command holds the left, while the first holds 
the right. The true derivation is from the French lieutenant, which 
signifies one holding or supplying the place of another. 

27. Mussulman. The plural of this word, in respectable writers, 
is often written Mussulmen, as if the English word man entered into 
its composition. The true root, however, is salama, an Arabic word. 
This error is committed also in German. With regard to Bosch- 
man or Bushman (plural Boschmen or Bushmen), this objection does 
not lie ; for it is a Teutonic word made up of Dutch bosch, a wood, 
and man. It is remarkable that for the words German, Norman, 
which are really made up of our word man, the plurals Germen, Nor- 
men are never thought of. 

28. Parchment. This word seems, at first view, to have the term- 
ination ment, which occurs so often in English ; but its true deriva- 
tion is from Latin pergamena, scilicet charta ; whence Italian perga- 
mena, Spanish pergamino, Portuguese pergaminho, French parchemin, 
German and Dutch pergament, English parchment. 

29. Key, a ledge of rocks near the surface of the water. This 
word appears to be connected with the instrument of that name in 
English, but is actually derived from Spanish cayo, a rock or sand- 
bank. 

The following examples are taken from William Holloway : A 
General Dictionary of Provincialisms . Lewes, 1839. 8vo. Introd. 

1. Bag of nails, for bacchanals, the picture on the sign of an old 
public house in Pimlico. 

2. Beef-eaters, for French buffetiers, men stationed at the king's 
buffet, or side-board, to take care of it. 

3. Bloody Mars, for French ble de Mars, March wheat, a species 
of wheat introduced into England a few years ago, on account of 
the stiffness of its straw, which rendered it fit for making into plait 
for bonnets. 

4. Boarder of Dover Castle, for Norman-French bordar, the name 
still used in public documents of an officer who arrests the debtors 
in the Cinque-Ports for the purpose of taking them to Dover Castle, 
where they are confined. 



452 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

5. Boneless, for Latin Boreas, the north wind. In Kent, when the 
wind blows violently, they say " Boneless is at the door." 

6. Catch-rogue, a Norfolk corruption of Norman-French cachereau, 
a bum-bailiff. 

7. Country -dance, for French contre-danse, a dance in which the 
partners are arranged in opposition, or in opposite lines. It is re- 
markable that Girault-Duvivier, a French grammarian, states, vice 
versa, that French contre-danse is a corruption of English country- 
dance. The true etymology, however, is evident from the concur- 
rence of Portuguese contradanca, Spanish contradanza, and Italian 
contraddanza. 

8. Goat and Compasses, for " God encompasses us," the motto on 
an old sign in the eastern part of London, in the time of the Puri- 
tans, having a pair of compasses. 

9. Mount Widgeon pea, for Monte Videan pea, a species of pea in- 
troduced into England from Monte Video. 

10. yes! O yes! for Oyez! oyez ! Hear ye! hear ye! the old 
exclamation made by the criers to call people's attention to the no- 
tices they were about to give. 

11. Pony, for Latin pone, behind, the person who sits behind the 
dealer at a game of cards, whose business is to collect the cards 
preparatory to the next deal. 

12. Scarlet likeness, for scarlet lychnis, a flower. 

13. Shallow Church, for Shadoxhurst, a village near Ashford, Kent. 

14. Shepherd's Well, for SibbaWs Wold, a village near Dover, Kent. 
The following have been suggested by Dr. J.G.Percival : 
Oyster Hills, in Hertfordshire, England, corrupted from the Latin 

Colles Ostorii, so called from the Roman general Ostorius, who con- 
structed a fortified camp in that vicinity. 

Katzenelnbogen, a county and town in Hesse, Germany ; literally 
caVs elbow, but a corruption of Cattimeliboci, the name of a tribe of 
the Catti inhabiting Mount Melibocus. 

Altrippen, a town in Germany, on the Upper Rhine, literally old 
ribs, but a corruption of the Latin Alta Ripa, high bank. 

Manteuffel, man-devil, the name of a noble family in the north of 
Germany, corrupted from the French Mandeville. 

The English have singularly corrupted many of the proper names 
in India, such as Suraja ud Doula, the celebrated nabob of Bengal, 
in Warren Hastings's time, to Sir Roger Dowler ; Allahabad, literally 
the dwelling of God (Allah), to Isle of Bats; Chuhul Sitoon, the name 
of a palace in Gazipoor, to Chelsea Tune. 

Similar corruptions are going on in the French and other foreign 



DERIVATION. 453 

names in our country, such as Isle of Nore, for Isle aux Noix, "Wal- 
nut Island ; shoot, for chute, a fall or rapid ; backus and back-house > 
for the Dutch bakhuys, bake-house ; steelwagon and stillwagon, for 
the German stellwagen, etc. 

DIMINUTIVES. 

§ 423. A Diminutive (French diminutif) is a word formed from 
another word to express a little thing of the kind. 

Diminutives have been divided into three classes, according to 
their meaning : 1 . Those which express Simple Diminution; 2. Those 
which express Endearment ; 3. Those which express Contempt. They 
are distinguished by various terminations : 

I. Those which end in kin; as, Mannikin, from man; lambkin., 
from lamb ; ladikin or lakin, from lady ; pipkin, from pipe ; Malkin, 
from Mary ; Peterkin, from Peter; Hopkin, from Hob; Watkin, from 
Wat or Walter ; Wilkin, from Will ; Hodgkin, from Hodge. 

II. Those which end in ock ; as, Bullock, from bull ; hillock, from 
hill; paddock, from Anglo-Saxon pad or pada, a toad. 

III. Those which end in ie, and which are almost peculiar to the 
Lowland Scotch ; as, Ladie, minnie, wifie. 

IV. Those which are formed by a change of vowel ; as, Kitten., 
from cat ; chicken, from cock. 

V. Those which end in et ; as, Lancet r trumpet, pocket, from the 
old word pock, a bag, streamlet. 

VI. Those which end in el ; as, Cockerel, pickerel, satchel. 

VII. Those which end in ling; as, Darling, duckling, changelings 
nursling, suckling, stripling, bantling, seedling. In lordling, hireling, 
and underling, there is the idea of contempt. 

" In Anglo-Saxon the termination -ing is regarded as patronymic, 
just as -idrjc is in Greek. In the translation of the Bible the son of 
Elisha is called Llising.'''' — Latham. 

ORIGIN OF ENGLISH SURNAMES. 

§ 424. Surname, derived from the French surnom, is a name 
superadded to the first or Christian name, to indicate the family 
to which the individual bearing it belongs ; as, Greorge Wash- 
ington, John Milton. 

All names were originally significant ; though, in the course 
of time, the meaning of many of them has become obscure or 
entirely obliterated. 

In the early ages of the world, a simple name was sufficient 



454 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

for each individual; as, Adam, Moses. The first approach to 
the modern system of nomenclature is the addition of the name 
of one's sire to his own name ; as, Caleb, the son of Nun ; Ica- 
rus, the son of Dcedalus. Another species of surname was some 
significant epithet; as, Alfred the Great; Harold Harefoot, 
which betokened swiftness of foot. The Romans regularly had 
three names ; as, Publius Cornelius Scipio. Publius, the 
prcenomen,) corresponded to our Christian name, as John ; Cor- 
nelius, the nomen, was the generic name or term of clanship ; 
Scipio, the cognomen, indicated the particular family to which 
one belonged. 

Modern nations have adopted various methods of distinguish- 
ing families. The Highlanders of Scotland employed the sire 
name with Mac (son), and hence the Mac Donalds and Mac- 
Gregors, respectively the son of Donald and the son of Gregor. 

The Irish had the practice of prefixing oy or o, signifying 
grandson ; as, <y Tiara, CNeale. Many of the Irish use the 
word Mac as the Highlanders do. 

The Old Normans prefixed to their names the word Fitz, a 
corruption oifils, derived from the Latin filius ; as, Fitz Will- 
iam, the son of William. 

The peasantry of Russia employ the termination -witz, and 
the Poles -sky, in the same sense ; as, Peter Paulowitz — Peter, 
the son of Paul ; James Petrosky= James, the son of Peter. 

In Wales, until a late period, no surnames were used beyond 
op or son ; as, Ap Hoivel, ap Richard, now corrupted into Pow- 
cl, Prichard. It was not uncommon, a century back, to hear 
of such combinations as Evan ap Griffith, ap David, ap Jenkin, 
and so on to the seventh or eighth generation. To ridicule this 
species of nomenclature, some wit describes cheese as being 

" Adam's own cousin-german by its birth : 
Ap curds, ap milk, ap cow, ap grass, ap earth." 

The ancient Britons generally used one name only ; but very 
rarely they added another ; as, Uther Pendragon. 

The Saxons had a peculiar kind of surname, the termination 
ing signifying offspring ; as, Dearing, Browning, Whiting ; 
meaning, respectively, dear, dark or taivny, white or fair off- 
spring. More commonly this termination was added to the fa- 
ther's name ; as, Ceolwald Cuthing — Ceolwald, the son of Cuth. 



DERIVATION. 455 

The Saxons bestowed honorable appellations on those who had 
signalized themselves by a gallant exploit. To kill a wolf was 
to destroy a dangerous enemy, and to confer a benefit on society. 
Hence several Saxon proper names end in ulph or wolf ; as, 
Biddw/p/*, the wolf-killer. 

The fore-names of the Anglo-Saxons are characterized by a 
beautiful simplicity ; as, Alfred, all peace ; Bede, he that pray- 
eth ; Cut hbert, bright in knowledge ; Edmund, truth-mouth, or 
the speaker of truth ; Edivard, truth-keeper, a faithful man ; 
Goddard, honored of God ; Leofwin, win-love ; Richard, richly 
honored. "William was a name not given anciently to chil- 
dren, but was a title of dignity imposed upon men from a re- 
gard to merit. When a German had killed a Roman, the golden 
helmet of the Roman was placed upon his head, and the soldier 
was honored with the title Gildhelm, or golden helmet. With 
the French the title was Guildhaume, and since Guillaume, 
Latin GulielmusP — Yerstegan. 

In the twelfth century it was considered a mark of disgrace 
to be without a surname. A distinguished lady is represented 
as saying, in respect to her suitor, who had but one name, 

" It were to me great shame, 
To have a lord withouten his twa name." 

The king, to satisfy the lady, gave him the name of FitzRoy. 

The practice of bearing a double set of names prevails among 
the miners of Staffordshire. The best are used on important oc- 
casions, like their Sunday clothes, while, for every-day purposes, 
the nick names are used ; as, Nosey, Soaker. An apothecary 
in the collieries, who, as a matter of decorum, put the real names 
of his patients on his books for ornament, put in the sobriquet 
for use ; as, for instance, Thomas Williams, vulgo diet, Old 
Puff. 

local surnames. 
§ 425. From the Great Roll of Battel Abbey, which contains 
a list of the principal commanders and companions in arms of Will- 
iam the Conqueror, we are prepared to admit the statement of Cam- 
den, that there is not a single village in Normandy that has not sur- 
named some family in England. The French names introduced 
from Normandy may generally be known by the prefixes De, Du, 



456 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Des, De la, St. ; and by the suffixes Font, Ers, Fant, Beau, Age, 
Mont, Bois, Ly, Eux, Ft, Vol, Court, Vaux, Lay, Fort, Ot, Champ, 
and Ville, most of which are the component parts of the proper 
names of places ; as, De Mortimer, De Forest, St.Maure (Seymour), 
Montfort, etc. Names from other parts of France : Boleyn, Cha- 
worth, Beaumont, Bohun, Cauncy, etc. Other names have also been 
introduced from other countries ; as, Dane or Denis, from Den- 
mark ; Gael or Gale, from Scotland ; Wales, Walks, or Walsh, 
from Wales. 

Surnames from Counties in the British dominions ; as, Kent, Es- 
sex, Dorset, etc. From Cities and Towns ; as, Winchester, Bedford. 

Such Common Names as Hurst— Wood and Field, Den and Wick, 
and Cote, Croft, Worth, Cliff, Hood, Marsh, etc., have furnished sur- 
names, or the terminations of surnames ; as, Bathurst, Hartfield, 
Cowden, Harwood. So Beck, a brook ; Bank, Barnes, Barrow, a hilly- 
place ; Bent, a rush ; Bois, a wood ; Bridge — Briggs or Bridges ; 
Bush, Bottom=low ground; Camp, Cave, Chase=a. forest; Cobb^z 
a harbor ; Fell=z barren, stony hills ; Grave, Greene, Heath, Hill, 
March = a limit or frontier; Mead, and many others, have furnished 
surnames. In some cases the termination er or man is attached to 
them ; as, Towner, Weller, Pitman, Houseman. 

surnames derived from occupation. 

§ 426. The name Smith is a well-known example belonging to 
this class. The root of this word is the Saxon smitan, to smite, and 
was originally applied to artificers in wood as well as to those in 
metal, as wheelwrights, carpenters, masons, and smiters in general. 
Hence the frequency of the name is easily accounted for. Besides 
the Smiths, we have the Masons, the Carpenters, the Bakers, the 
Butchers, the Goldsmiths, the Thatchers, the Coopers, the Glovers, the 
Shermans — Shearman, the Jenners=z Joiners, the Tuckers = Fullers,. 
the Barkers =. Tanners, the Skinners, the Ropers. 

The termination er generally denotes some employment, and is 
equivalent to the word man: Harper is harp-man; Salter is salt-man, 
and Miller, mill-man. These terminations, er and man, are often 
used interchangeably ; as, Carter and Cart-man. Ster is the fem- 
inine termination. Tapster is the feminine of Tapper, Brewster of 
Brewer, Webster of Webber (Weaver), Sangster of Sanger. 

Many surnames are derived from Field Sports ; as, Hunter, Fish- 
er, Fowler, Falconer ; and some were derived from Military Pur- 
suits ; as, Hookman, Billman } Spearman, Bowman. 



DERIVATION. 457 



SURNAMES DERIVED FROM OFFICE. 

§ 427. King, Prince, Duke, Earl, Knight, Squire, Gentleman, Yeo- 
man ; Pope, Cardinal, Bishop, Prior, Dean, Parsons, Vicar, Priest, 
Deacon, Clerk, Chaplain, Friar, Monk, Nun, Proctor, Sexton. Besides 
these, the following also have lent their designations as the names 
of families : Steward, Constable, Marshal, Chancellor, Chamberlain, 
Sheriff, Sergeant, Mayor, Warden, Burgess, Porter, Champion, Beadle, 
Page, Reeve, Ranger, Bailey, Bailiff, Parker, Forester, Foster, a nour- 
ishes 

SURNAMES DERIVED FROM PERSONAL OR MENTAL 
QUALITIES. 

§ 428. From this obvious source were derived such names as 
Black or Blackman, Brown, White, Rufus, Russell (red), Pink, Red- 
man, Tawny, Whitesides, Hoare, Gray, Whitehead, Long, Short, Long- 
fellow, Small, Strong, Swift, Speed, Lightfoot, Heavyside. Some are 
of Celtic origin ; as, Roy (red), Duff, Dove, Grimm (strong), Gough 
(red). Besides these there are the Hardy s, the Cowards, the Marks, 
the Moodys, the Wilds, the Sobers, the Blythes, the Godmans, the 
Wisemans, the Thankfuls, the Blunts, the Sweets, the Trueloves, the 
J)oolittles, the Too goods. 

SURNAMES DERIVED FROM CHRISTIAN NAMES. 

§ 429. From Adam are derived Adams, Adamson, Addison, Addis- 
eot. From Alexander are derived Sanders, Sanderson, Allix, Al- 
ley. From Dennis, Dennison, Jennison. From Henry, Henrison, 
Harry, Harris, Harrison, Hal, Halket, Hawes, Halse, Hawkins, Her- 
ries. From John, Johns, Jones, Johnson, Jonson, Jennings, Jenks, 
Jenkins, Jenkinson, Jack, Jackson, Hanson, Jockins. A great num- 
ber of surnames are, in like manner, derived from Christian names. 

SURNAMES FROM NATURAL OBJECTS. 

§ 430. From Heavenly Bodies ; as, Sun, Moon, Star. From 
Quadrupeds ; as, Buck, Palfrey, Badger, Kidd, Bull, Colt, Puss, etc. 
From Birds ; as, Bird, Bullfinch, Coote, Drake, Daw, Finch, Jay, Par- 
rot, Nightingale. From Fishes ; as, Chubb, Dolphin, Herring, Pike, 
Fisk = Fish, Whiting, etc. From Vegetables; as, Myrtle, Holly, 
Gage, Rose, Flower, Sage, Pease, Primrose, Plum, Beet. From the 
Mineral Kingdom ; as, Clay, Gold, Stone, Jewel, Flint, Diamond. 
From Armor ; as, Shield, Gun, Dart. 



458 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 



SURNAMES FROM THE SOCIAL RELATIONS, ETC. 

§ 431. Of this we have Brothers, Cousins, Husband, Child, Bach- 
elor, Kinsman, Master, Lover, Guest, Prentice. So we have Rich, 
Poor, Bond, Freeman. Surnames from different parts of the 
Body ; as, Head, Cheek, Beard, Neck, Shanks. From the Body of 
Animals; as, Maw, Horn,Wing, Crowfoot. From Coins ; as, Penny, 
Twopenny, Pound. From the Weather ; as, Frost, Snow, Thunder, 
Mist, Dew. From Sports ; as, Bowles, Ball, Dice, Play. From Ves- 
sels ; as, Ship, Cutter, Deck, Helm. From Paces ; as, Trot, Gallop. 
From Measures ; as, Gill, Gallon, Peck. From Predilections ; as, 
Loveday, Loveland. From Numbers ; as, Six, Ten, Forty. From 
Diseases ; as, Cramp, Akinside, Headache. 

NAMES DERIVED FROM THE VIRTUES, ETC. 

§ 432. Peace, Joy, Hope, Love, Patience. Sometimes a whole sen- 
tence was adapted as a name ; as, Faint-not Hewett, Make-peace Hea- 
ton, Kill-sin Pimple, Be-faithful Joiner, Hope-fear Rending, Stand-fast- 
on-high Stringer, Fly-debate Roberts, Be-steadfast Ellyard, Be-courte- 
ous Cole, The-peace-of- God Knight, Fight-the- good- fight-of -faith White, 
Sweet Finelove. 

NAMES DERIVED FROM MISCELLANEOUS SOURCES. 

§ 433. Surnames originally Sobriquets ; as, Steptoe, Golightly, 
Rushout, Hearsay, Doolittle, Gotobed. 

From Contempt ; as, Leatherhead, Shufflebottom, Crookshanks, 
Badman, Pudding. Names that have provoked Puns ; as, Silver, 
Sellsome, Churchyard, Going, Gone, Ketchum, Cheetum, Fell, Cannon, 
Skin, Bone. Besides these, there are such words as Bucktooth, Cut- 
love, Popkiss,Bowskill. FromtheLatin; as, Benedict, blessed. From 
the Greek ; as, Alexander, defending men. From the Hebrew ; as, 
David, beloved ; Isaac, laughter. 

versatility of proper names. 

§ 434. By a common usage of nations, proper names are trans- 
ferred, instead of being translated, from one language into another. 
In this transfer, however, the name often suffers some violence in 
order to adapt itself to the organs and taste of a new people, and 
thus becomes quite changed in its external form. 

This change or corruption sometimes appears in the accentuation. 
Of this we have a fine example in the name Napoleon, which has 



DERIVATION. 459 

become so celebrated. This name contains four vowels and as many 
syllables, each of which has the accent in some of the nations which 
have occasion to use this word. Thus we have in French and Bo- 
hemian Napoleon, with the accent on the first syllable ; in German, 
Dutch, English, Danish, and Swedish, Napoleon, with the accent on 
the second syllable ; in modern Greek, Polish, Russian, and Servian, 
Napoleon, with the accent on the third syllable ; and in Italian, Span- 
ish, and Portuguese, Napoleon, with the accent on the fourth or final 
syllable. The accentuation in each case indicates the habits and 
taste of the people. 

This change sometimes occurs in the pronunciation, while the 
writing or orthography remains the same. Of this, Cicero, the name 
of the illustrious Roman orator, is a good example. It is pronounced 
variously, according to the sound given to c before e and i in the 
modern languages of Europe. Thus Cicero is pronounced Kikero in 
ancient Latin and Greek, Tshitshero in Italian, Tsitsero in German., 
and Sisero in English. 

This change is sometimes seen both in the orthography and in 
the pronunciation. This is exemplified in the Hebrew name John, 
which has descended through the Greek to the modern languages 
of Europe. This name is Written, in Hebrew, Yohannan; in Syriac, 
Yuhanon ; in Nestorian Syriac, Yohanna ; in Armenian, Hohannes ; 
in Greek, Joannes ; in Latin, Johannes ; in Italian, Giovanni ; in 
Spanish, Juan ; in French, Jean ; in German, Johann ; in English, 
John ; in Russian, Ivan ; and in Welsh, Evan and Owen. Many of 
these forms would hardly be recognized except on reflection. 

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES TO PROPER NAMES OF PLACES. 

§ 435. Ab, at the beginning of the names of places, is fre- 
quently derived, by a contraction, from abbot, and denotes that 
a monastery was once there, or, at least, that the place belonged 
to some abbey; as, ABtngton — the town belonging to the ab- 
bacy; AbingDon = Abbey hill. 

Ac, Ak, came from the Saxon ac or oak ; as, Acton, a town 
abounding in oaks. 

Ald comes from eald, ancient ; as, AiA>borough, or Old Town. 

Attle, Adle, came from the Saxon ethel, signifying noble ; 
as, ATTLEborough, or Noble Town. 

Borough, Burgh, Bury, comes from burg, byrig, a town or 
city ; as, Pe^erBORouGH, the Town of St. Peter. 

Bottom, a valley or low ground, from the Anglo-Saxon botm. 



460 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

In Sussex, England, it is said that dale and valley are rarely 
used ; bottom is substituted. Hence the names RamsBOTTOM, 

Long-BOTTOM. 

Bourne, Born, or Burn, implies a stream or rivulet forming 
a boundary ; as, Tyburn, iiZb /burn, S^/bourne. 

Brad, at the beginning of words, signifies broad, from the 
Saxon brad; as, Br ADford= Broadford. 

By, Bye, Danish, town, village, a habitation ; as, GrimsBY. 

Carn or Cairn, Celtic, a Druidical heap of stones. 

Caster, Chester, Cester, from the Latin castra r a camp ; 
as, CAsford— Castle or Town upon the Ford. 

Chip or Cheap, from the Saxon cypan, to buy or sell, indicates 
a market-town ; as, Cmppenham, or CuEAPside. 

Clift or Clive signifies a cliff, a steep place or rock ; as, 
Clifton. 

Comp at the beginning of words, and Comb at the ending, de- 
notes the lower situation of a place or a valley, from the Celtic 
kum ; as, CoMpton. 

Cross has reference to the practice of placing a cross at the 
meeting of different ways to indicate the proper road. Thus, at 
Charing Cross, Waltham Cross, there must have been a cross 
formerly. The term is also applied to the places where roads 
cross each other. 

Dale, a valley ; as, KenvAL, a corruption of Kent-VALE. 

Dear, By, the habitation or place of deer=DerBY. 

Den indicates a valley ; as, SenterDEN. 

Don, Dun, Down, Anglo-Saxon denu, signifies a hill gently 
sloping ; as, Dunkirk, South Down. 

Fleet, Anglo-Saxon fleot, is an inlet for water ; as, Wain- 

FLEET. 

Ford, the passage of a river ; as, Oxford, HartFORD. 

Ham, at the termination to the names of places, signifies 
house, a habitation or home, in the southern counties of England 
pronounced hame. The original form still remains in UAulet, 
and in DednAM, SouthuAmton = South-home-town. HAuton- 
scire was abbreviated to HAMpshire. 

Hurst, from the Saxon hyrst, signifies a wood; as, Pen- 
hurst. 

Ing, a meadow or field ; as, ReadmG, BirmmGham. 



DERIVATION. 461 

Ley, Leigh, comes from the Saxon leag, a pasture field ; as, 
OakhEY, ChudhBiGu. 

Low, from the Saxon hloew, a hill ; as, Houndshow. 

Marsh, Mas, from the Saxon mersc, a marsh; as, Marsh- 
field, M.Asbrough. 

Ness, from the Anglo-Saxon ncese, nose, signifies a place at 
or near a promontory ; as, HolderNnss. 

Over denotes the situation over a hill or a river ; as, Wend- 

OVER. 

Pen, from the Celtic, the top of a hill. 

Ric, Ridge, seem to denote a range of hills on the top of a 
hill; as, WoldrnvGE. 

Stead, Anglo-Saxon slide, a place, a station ; as, HomesTEAB. 

Stowe, from Anglo-Saxon stowe, a place ; as, GWstowe, a 
place dedicated to (xod. 

Thorpe, from Anglo-Saxon thorpe, a village ; as, Bishops- 

THORPE. 

Tun, Ton, Don, Anglo-Saxon dun, a hill, a town; as, Hunt- 
ingTON. 

Weold, Wold, is a wild or wood ; as, CoteswoiuD, famous for 
its sheep and pasture ground. 

Worth, Anglo-Saxon weorth, a village or street; as, Kill- 

ingSWORTK. 

"Wick, "Wich, Danish vig, Dutch wyk, a bay or creek formed 
by a curve in a river, a retreat or station; as, GreemvicK or 
wich, the green village ; Sandwicn, sand village. 

names of the months. 

§ 436. The names of the months are of Roman origin ; thus : 

January, Januarius, is from Janus. He was the sun-god, 
or god of the year of the early inhabitants of Italy. In the an- 
cient language (Anglo-Saxon) it was called "Wulfe-monaS, Wolf- 
month, because in that month the wolves were most mischievous. 

February, Februarius, is from Februa, which were purifi- 
cations performed this month. In the ancient language it was 
called Sprout-kele, Spring-wort, because the worts then began 
to sprout. 

March, Martius, is from Mars, the supposed father of Rom- 
ulus. In the ancient language it was called Lenct-monaS, the 



462 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

Lengthening month, because the days then begin to exceed the 
nights in length. 

April, Aprilis, from the verb aperio, is the month in which 
trees and flowers open their buds. In the ancient language it 
was called Oorten-monaS, because Easter fell in April. 

May, Mains, is from Maia, the mother of Mercury. In the 
ancient language it was called Tri-milei = three milkings, be- 
cause the cows were then milked three times a day. 

June, Junius, is from Juno. In the ancient language it was 
called Mede-monaS, Meadow-month, because the cattle were 
then turned out to feed in the meadows. 

July, Julius,!?, from Julius Caesar. In the ancient language 
it was called Hey-monaS, Hay-month. 

August, Augustus, is from Augustus Caesar. In the ancient 
language it was called Arn-mona$, Barn-month, because the 
barns were then filled. 

September, September, is the seventh month. In the an- 
cient language it was called Grerst-monaS, Grist-month, because 
the new corn was then carried to mill. 

October, October, the eighth month. In the ancient lan- 
guage it was called Wyn-mona$, Wine-month, because the 
grapes were then pressed to make wine. 

November, November, the ninth month. In the ancient lan- 
guage it was called Wynde-monaS, Windy -month, because high 
winds prevailed that month. 

December, December, the tenth month. In the ancient lan- 
guage it was called Wynter-monaS, Winter -month, because the 
cold was then growing intense. 

The Romans are said originally to have had but ten months, 
commencing with March. 

names of the days of the week. 

§ 437. The names of the days of the week are derived from 
the gods worshiped by the northern nations of Europe. Out of 
the seven days of the week, three of them correspond, in the 
origin of their names, with the Roman Calendar. 

Sunday (dies Solis) was the day sacred to the Sun = Sun's day. 

Monday (dies Lunae) was sacred to the Moon = Moon's day. 

Tuesday was sacred to the god Tuisco = Tuisco's day. 



DERIVATION. 453 

"Wednesday was* sacred to the god "Woden = Woden's day. 
Thursday was sacred to the god Thor = Thor's day. 
Friday was sacred to the goddess Friga=Friga's day. 
Saturday (dies Saturni) was sacred to the god ^eater=Seat- 
er's day. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER XI. 

1. What is the definition of the term derivation'? 

2. In what two specific senses is it used'? What does derivation in the 
widest sense include % 

3. From what four general sources is the English language derived? 

4. Give some instances of instinctive forms ; and of Teutonic verbal stem- 
words or roots ; and of Teutonic stem-nouns ; and of Teutonic reduplicate 
forms; and of Teutonic primary derivatives; and of Teutonic secondary de- 
rivatives ; and of Teutonic words with prefixes. 

5. What is composition 1 ? What are some of its characteristics, and from 
what does it differ 1 

6. Give some instances of the three different kinds of composition ; and 
also of disguised Teutonic derivatives. 

7. Give some instances of Latin verbal roots ; and of Latin stem-adjectives ; 
and of Latin stem-substantives ; and of Latin primary derivative ; and of Lat- 
in secondary derivative words ; and of Latin derivative words with prefixes. 

8. Give instances of Romanic verbal roots; and of Romanic stem-adjectives; 
and of Romanic stem-substantives ; and of Romanic derivative words with 
suffixes ; and of Romanic derivative words with prefixes. 

9. Give instances of Greek verbal roots ; and of Greek stem-adjectives ; 
and of Greek stem-substantives ; and of Greek derivative words with suffixes; 
and of Greek derivative words with prefixes ; and of Greek compound words 
in English ; and of Greek disguised derivatives and compounds. 

10. What four classes of words does the Hebrew portion of our language 
include I Give instances of Hebrew or Phoenician words through the Greek 
and Latin, and instances of prefixes and suffixes in words derived from He- 
brew and Chaldaic. 

11. Give instances of foreign words : (1.) from the Celtic ; (2.) from Gothic 
dialects kindred to the Anglo-Saxon ; (3.) from the French ; (4.) from the 
Spanish ; (5.) from the Italian ; (6.) from the Slavonic ; (7.) from the Arme- 
nian ; (8.) from the modern Persian; (9.) from the modern Sanscrit; (10.) 
from the Arabic ; (11.) from the Mongolian stock ; (12.) from the African; 
(13.) from the American stock ; (14.) from the Oceanic. 

12. Give instances of proper English words of mixed origin; of Latin or 
foreign words with Teutonic inflections ; with Teutonic suffixes ; with Teu- 
tonic prefixes ; of malformations or hybrid words. 

13. Give instances of double forms in language; and of accidental coinci- 
dences in the formation of words ; and of illusive etymologies. 



464 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

14. What is a diminutive ? What are the three classes % and what are the 
seven terminations 1 with examples. 

15. What can you say of surnames'? and of the names of places'? and of 
the names of the months ? and of the names of the days of the week ? 



EXERCISES UNDER PART IV. 

ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. 

§ *437. Etymological Analysis is that process by which 
each word in a sentence is named and described according to 
its etymological relations, as unfolded in the preceding pages of 
this Fourth Part. 

examples. 

In using the following examples, the pupils are expected, I. 
To point out all the Nouns, and give a definition of the noun ; 
II. To point out all the Adjectives, and give a definition of the 
adjective ; III. To point out the Articles, and give a definition 
of the article ; IY. To point out all the Pronouns, and give a 
definition of the pronoun ; Y. To point out all the Verbs, and 
give a definition of the verb ; YI. To point out all the Adverbs, 
and give a definition of the adverb ; VII. To point out all the 
Prepositions, and give a definition of the preposition ; VIII. To 
point out all the Conjunctions, and give a definition of the con- 
junction ; IX. To point out all the Interjections, and give a def- 
inition of the interjection. 

model. 

He who tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he under- 
takes ; for he must be forced to tell twenty more to maintain 
that one. — Pope. 

Lie and task are nouns. A Noun is a word, etc. See § 243. 

Sensible and great are adjectives. An Adjective is a word, 
etc. See § 264. 

A is the indefinite article. The Article a, etc. See § 285. 

He and who are pronouns in the nominative case. A Pro- 
noun, etc. See § 288. 

Tells, is, undertakes, must be forced, to tell, to maintain, 
are verbs. Tells is a verb, from the ancient or strong verb tell, 



ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. 4(55 

told, told, in the active voice, in the indicative mode, present 
tense, third person, singular number. See § 349. 

Undertakes is a verb, from the strong verb undertake, un- 
dertook, undertook, undertaken, compounded of under and take, 
in the active voice, in the indicative mode, present tense, third 
person, singular number. See § 349. 

Must be forced is a verb, from the weak verb force, forced, 
forced, in the passive voice, indicative mode, present tense, 
third person, singular number. 

To tell is a verb, as before, in the infinitive mode, present 
tense. 

To maintain is a verb, from the weak verb maintain, main- 
tained, maintained, in the infinitive mode, present tense. 

Not is aift adverb of negation ; how is an adverb of manner. 
See §369. % 

To is a preposition. See § 371. 

For is a conjunction. See § 375. 

ANALYZE THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES. 

1. Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is 
the school of genius. — Gibbon. 

2. A spirit of innovation is generally the result of a selfish 
temper and confined views. People will not look forward to 
posterity who never look backward to their ancestors. — Burke. 

3. High on a throne of royal state, which far 
Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Ind, 

Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, 
Showers on her kings barbaric pearls and gold, 
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised 
To that bad eminence. — Milton. 

4. The crying sin of all governments is that they meddle in- 
juriously with human affairs, and obstruct the processes of na- 
ture by excessive legislation. — "W. E. Channing. 

5. "We doubt whether a man ever brings his faculties to bear 
with their full force upon any subject until he writes upon it for 
the instruction or edification of others. To place it more clearly 
before others, he feels a necessity of viewing it more vividly 
himself. — "W. E. Channing. 

6. Higher laws than those of taste determine the conscious- 

Gg 



466 ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS. 

ness of nations. Higher laws than those of taste determine the 
general forms of the expression of that consciousness. Let the 
downward age of America find its orators, and poets, and artists 
to erect its spirit, or grace and soothe its dying. Be it ours to 
go up, with Webster, to the Rock, the Monument, the Capitol, 
and hid " the distant nations hail !"- — Rufus Choate. 

synthesis. 

1. Compose a sentence in which there shall be a proper noun 
and a common noun. 

2. Compose a sentence in which there shall be an abstract 
noun, a collective noun, and a correlative noun. 

3. Compose a sentence in which there shall be a participial 
noun, a diminutive noun, and a material noun. 

4. Compose a sentence in which there shall be a common 
adjective and a proper adjective ; and one in which there shall 
be a numeral adjective and a pronominal adjective ; and one in 
which there shall be a participial adjective and a compound ad- 
jective. 

5. Compose a sentence which shall exhibit the different de- 
grees of comparison. 

6. Compose a sentence in which there shall be two different 
kinds of articles. 

7. Compose a sentence which shall have in it the several per- 
sonal pronouns ; and one that shall have in it the demonstrative 
pronouns ; and one that shall have in it the relative pronouns ; 
and one that shall have in it the interrogative pronouns ; and 
one that shall have in it an adjective pronoun ; and one that 
shall have in it adverbial pronouns. 

8. Compose a sentence that shall have in it a transitive verb 
in the active voice ; and also one having in it a verb in the pas- 
sive voice ; and also one having in it a verb in the future perfect 
tense ; and also one in which there shall be a verb in the infini- 
tive mode ; also one in which there shall be a strong verb and a 
weak verb ; also one in which there shall be a reflective verb ; 
and also one in which there shall be an impersonal verb and a 
defective verb. 

9. Compose a sentence having in it an adverb; a preposi- 
tion ; a conjunction ; and an interjection. 



PART V. 

LOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 



DEFINITIONS. 

§ 438. Lotfic, Greek Xoyinr], from Xoyog, has been denned as 
the Science, and also as the Art of Reasoning. Aoyog has been 
defined as the word or outward Form by which the inward 
thought is expressed and made known ; also, the inward thought 
or reason itself, so that it comprehends both the Lathi ratio and 
oratio, the sermo internus and the sermo externus. There is a 
most intimate connection between reason and speech ; between 
the mens divinior and the os magna sonaturum. As already 
intimated, the Greeks had but one name for both (Xoyog), and 
they looked upon the art of reasoning as nothing but the art of 
discourse, 6iaXeK,rmr\. 

Logic is concerned with the outward form, or the sermo ex- 
ternus. In order, therefore, successfully to investigate the prin- 
ciples of reasoning, as we do when we treat Logic as a Science, 
or to apply those principles as we do when we treat it as an Art, 
the Forms of logic should be familiarly known. So intimately, 
also, is Logic, the derivative term, connected with Language, 
that it may, so far as it is an art, be correctly defined as the art of 
employing language properly for the purposes of Reasoning . 

Logical Forms are those forms of language to which logical 
terms are usually applied; as, Proposition, syllogism, term, 
predicate. 

THE RELATIONS OF GRAMMAR, LOGIC, AND RHETORIC. 

§ 439. Logic deals with the Meaning of language ; G-rammar 
with its Construction ; Rhetoric with its Persuasiveness. To 
reduce a sentence to its elements, and to show that these ele- 



468 LOGICAL FORMS. 

ments are the Subject, the Predicate, and the Copula, is the 
province of Logic. To state that such a sentence as Thou art 
speaking is correct, having reference only to the parts of speech 
and their arrangement, is a part of Grammar. To show the 
difference, in force of expression, between such a sentence as 
Great is Diana of the Ephesians, and Diana of the Ephesians 
is greats is a point in Rhetoric. 

Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric, then, each being thus con- 
nected with language, are united by something more than the 
commune vinculum, the common bond which unites the several 
branches of Knowledge. They constitute the famous Trivium 
of the ancient schools ; while the other branches of learning, 
namely, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy, the 
Quadrivium ; as in these two hexameters, framed to assist the 
memory : 

Gram., loquitur; Dia., vera docet; Rhet., verba colorat; 
Mus., canit; Ar., numeral; Geo., ponderat; Ast., colit astra. 

A thorough knowledge of any one of the three can not be ob- 
tained without an acquaintance with the two others. 

HISTORICAL CONNECTION. 

§ 440. There are, moreover, Historical reasons why a thor- 
ough knowledge of grammar can not be obtained without a pre- 
vious acquaintance with logic. Grammar grew up out of logic, 
and still retains some of the features of its origin. The early 
Greek grammarians transferred the terms of logic, many of 
them, to grammar. Those same terms are still employed by 
some of the best German, French, and English grammarians. 
Thus the term predicate, used in grammar, was derived from 
logic In order, therefore, to understand those terms in their full 
and exact meaning, the study of logical forms is a prerequisite. 

VALUE OF THIS PART OF THE WORK. 

§ 441. As Grammatical forms existed before a system of 
Grammar had been devised, so Logical forms existed in lan- 
guage before any system of Logic. It is the office of Logic to 
observe, to classify, and arrange these forms, in order that they 
may be used understanding^ and correctly for the purposes of 
reasoning. 



PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 459 

It is foreign to the aim of the present work to exhibit either 
the Science or the Art of Logic, in the development of its princi- 
ples or of its rules. All that is attempted is to present some of 
the Forms of Logic, which, in other words, are but Forms of 
Language. " Logic," says Whately, " is wholly concerned 
in the use of Language." If men understood distinctly the 
forms of logic, that is, the appropriate language of reasoning, 
they would be more apt to come to the same conclusions. They 
would be more apt to avoid a misunderstanding, which, in com- 
mon parlance, is equivalent to quarrel. 

As an encouragement to the study of this Fifth Part of the 
present work, it should be added, that Logical forms are the 
same, to whatever subject of reasoning they are applied, wheth- 
er, for instance, to questions connected with government, educa- 
tion, or religion. As men, especially intelligent men, will rea- 
son, they ought to understand and to use the correct forms of 
language for expressing their reasoning. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER I. 

1. What definitions have been given to logic 1 

2. How has the Greek word loyog been defined ? 

3. With what is logic concerned'? 

4. What are logical forms 1 

5. State the relations between logic, grammar, and rhetoric. 

6. State the historical connection between grammar and logic. 

7. Which was prior in existence, logic or logical forms ? 

8. State what is the aim of this work in respect to logic. 

9. State what is the value of a knowledge of the forms of logic. 

10. Are logical forms the same, though applied to different subjects? 



470 LOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER II. 

TERMS. 

§ 442. The word Term in Logic is from the Latin terminus 
(Grreek repfia), a boundary or end. In a proposition there are 
two ends or extremities, viz., the Subject and Predicate, between 
which stands the Copula. Thus, in the proposition, John is 
wise, John the subject, and wise the predicate, are the terms = 
termini, connected by the copula is. The Subject and Predi- 
cate are the terms of a proposition. A term is the name of any 
object of contemplation. Of these objects, some are substances 
and some are attributes. 

1. Terms or names which stand for a class of things are called 
Common ; as, River, tree, city. 

2. Terms or names which represent a single thing only are 
called Singular ; as, The Potomac, charter-oak, Boston. 

3. Terms or names which express objects, of which one, as 
father, implies the existence of the other, as son, are called Cor- 
relative. 

4. Terms or names which represent qualities which inhere in 
some subject, such as wise, hard, prudent, are called Concrete. 

5. Terms or names which represent qualities which do not 
thus inhere, but exist by themselves, such as wisdom, hardness, 
prudence, are called Abstract. 

6. Terms or names related to each other, as are wise and fool- 
ish, hard and soft, prudent and reckless, are called Contrary. 
These denote only the most widely different in the same class. 

7. Terms or names related to each other, as are organized 
and unorganized, material and immaterial, belief and disbe- 
lief, the one being a direct negative of the other, both being ap- 
plicable to objects not in the same class, are called Contra- 
dictory. 

8. Terms or names related to each other, as are wise and fool- 
ish, which can not be applied to the same person at the same 
time, are called Incompatible. 

9. Terms or names which are related to each other, as are 



TERMS. 471 

wise and worthy, which can be applied to the same person at 
the same time, are called Compatible. 

10. A term or name which expresses an object of simple ap- 
prehension is called a Simple Term ; as, A man, a tree. See 
§464. 

11. A term made up of a combination of words which express- 
es a complex apprehension is called a Complex Term ; as, A 
man with a sword ; a tree covered with snow. A term may be 
made up of several words, still it expresses but one thing. See 
§464. 

12. A term used in only one sense is called Univocal. A 
term used in more senses than one is Equivocal. Take, for ex- 
ample, the word " Case," used to signify a kind of covering ; 
and, again, an inflection of a noun, as John's, in the possessive 
"case;" and, again, a "case" such as is laid before a lawyer. 
This word is, in sense, three words ; and in each of the three 
senses it may be applied " univocally" to several things which 
are, in that sense, signified by it. t But when applied indiscrimi- 
nately to a " covering" and to a grammatical case, it is used 
" equivocally." 





EXERCISE. 




Name and 


explain the subjoined terms : 




1. 

Hard. 
Soft. 


2. 3. 
Mortal. King. 
Mortality. Subject. 


4. 
Hard. 
Cold. 


5. 
City. 
Boston. 


6. 7. 
Corporeal. "Wise. 
Incorporeal. Foolish. 


8. 
Beauty. 
Beautiful. 



2. Name the terms in the following sentence : "It was be- 
lieved that reality and truth were limited to experience, and ex- 
perience was limited to the sphere of sense ; while the very high- 
est faculties of the mind were deemed adequately explained 
when recalled to perceptions elaborated, purified, sublimated, 
and transformed. From the mechanical relations of sense with 
its object, it was attempted to solve the mysteries of will and in- 
telligence ; the philosophy of mind was soon viewed as correla- 
tive to the physiology of organization. The moral nature of man 
was at last formally abolished in its identification with his phys- 



472 LOGICAL FORMS. 

ical ; mind became a reflex of matter ; thought a secretion of 
the brain." — Sir ¥m. Hamilton's Review of Cousin's Lectures. 

PREDICABLES. 

§ 443. In the language of the schools there were Five Predi- 
cables, i. e., Five things, one or other of which must be affirm- 
ed, t. e., predicated, wherever any thing is affirmed concerning 
another thing, as in the following example : 

<* Species, Wine is 1 

Genus, a juice 2 

Differentia, extracted from grapes .... 3 

Property, inebriating 4 

Accident, sweet 5 

1. Wine is the Species, or subordinate Class. 

2. Juice is the (xenus, or Class in which wine is included. 

3. The quality which distinguishes "wine" from all other 
" species" of juice is its being " extracted from grapes ;" the Log- 
ical name for such a quality is the Differentia = difference = 
characteristic. This is something joined to the essence. 

4. A quality which belongs universally to the species, as that 
of " inebriating" to wine, without being its distinguishing qual- 
ity, is termed a Property of it. 

5. A quality which does not belong universally to a species, 
but is present only in some of the individuals which compose it, 
as that of being " sweet" to " wine," is termed an Accident. 

A common term, we have seen, is so called from its express- 
ing what is common to several things, and thence called also a 
" predicable," inasmuch as it can be affirmatively predicated in 
the same sense (" univocally") of certain other terms. 

1. When you are asked concerning any individual thing, 
"WJiat is it?" the answer you would give, if strictly correct, 
would be what is strictly called its Species ; as, " This is a pin;" 
"that is a pencil ;" "this is wineP This predicable, namely, 
the species of any thing, is usually described in technical lan- 
guage as expressing its whole Essence, meaning the whole that 
can be expressed by a common term. 

2. When the same question, "What is this?" is asked re- 
specting a species, the term by which you answer is that predi- 
cable which is technically called the Genus of that Species ; as. 



TERMS. 



473 



" What is a pen ?" The answer is, " An Instrument.'' 1 " What 
is wine ?" " A Juice" 

3. When you are asked, " What kind of instrument is a pen ?" 
the answer would he, " One designed for writing ;" or, "What 
kind of juice is wine?" "One extracted from grapes" This 
predicable is technically called the Differentia, or difference. 
The difference and the genus are technically described as mak- 
ing up or constituting the species. 

4. When any quality invariably and peculiarly belongs to a 
certain Species, but which yet is not that which we fix on as 
characterizing the Species, it is technically called the Property. 
Thus, inebriating is a " property" of wine, as we have seen ; 
risibility is a " property" of man. 

5. A predicable which belongs to some individuals of a Spe- 
cies, but not to others, is called an Accident ; as a military 
dress is an accident of man, sweetness an accident of wine. 

EXERCISE. 

Mention which of these five relations the lower terms of the 
subjoined pairs sustain to the upper : 



Rose, 
Flower. 


Gold, 
Heavy, p. 


Man, 
Civilized, a. 


Dictionary, 
Book. 


Dictionary, 
Alphabetical. 


Winter, 
Cold. 


Plow, 
Implement. 


Poetry, 
Rhyme. 


Square, 
Rectangular. 


River, 

Swift. 


Bird, 
Winged. 


House, 
Cottage. 


Science, 
Geometry. 


Blood, 
Red. 


Animah 
Bird. 


Inspired writers, 
Apostles. 



Ex. g\, is flower the species, genus, differentia, property, or 
accident of Rose ? 



GENUS AND SPECIES. 

§ 444. Genus and Difference make up the Species. Thus 
" animal" (the genus) and " rational" (the difference) constitute 
the " man." The Species, in reality, contains the Genus (i. e., 
implies it) ; and when the Genus is called a whole, and is said 
to contain the Species, this is only a metaphorical expression, 
signifying that it comprehends the Species in its more extensive, 



474 LOGICAL FORMS. 

but less full (intensive) signification : e. g., if I predicate of Cae- 
sar that he is an animal, I say the truth, indeed, but not the 
whole truth ; for he is not only an animal, but a man, so that 
" man" is a more full and complete expression than " animal;" 
while " animal" is more extensive, as it comprehends several 
other species ; as, Beast, bird, etc. In the same manner, the 
name of a species is a more extensive, but less full and complete 
term than that of an individual (viz., a singular term). 

A Genus which is also a species is called a Subalternum 
Genus or species, as'" bird," which is the genus of "pigeon," a 
species, is itself a species of " animal." There may be more 
than one Subalternum. 

A Genus which is not considered as a species of any thing is 
called Summum (the highest) Genus. 

A Species which is not considered as genus of any thing, but 
is regarded as containing under it only individuals, is called In- 
pima, the lowest species. 

In enumerations it is illogical to rank higher and lower spe- 
cies together : thus, e. g., to speak of " Flowers" as being roses, 
lilies, id ater -lilies, would be illogical, the third article being 
manifestly included in the second. 

Name. A. Intension. B. Extension. 

p { Summum . . . Body Body Stone, plant, brute, man. 

' C Subalternum . Living body . Body with life Plant, brute, man. 

Subalternum . Animal. . . . Body with life and sensation . . . Brute, man. 
Species, Infima Man Body with life, sensation, and reason . . Man. 

In the Summum Genus the Intension is least, the Extension 
greatest. In the Infima Species the Intension is greatest, the 
Extension least. 

EXERCISE I. 

Name the intermediate species between the following terms : 

Animal, Instrument, Vessel, Rite, 

Mastiff. Sword. Frigate. Baptism. 

EXERCISE II. 

In the following enumeration, specify the Illogical items : 
Animals are, Horses, Lions, Dogs, Spaniels, Hares. 
Colors are, "White, Red, Crimson, Black, Green. 
Compositions are, Histories, Poems, Odes, Orations, Essays. 
Citizens are, Artisans, Manufacturers, Seamen, Sailors. 









* TERMS. 475 

ABSTRACTION AND GENERALIZATION. 

§ 445. Abstraction is the process by which we notice some 
part or parts of the nature of an individual thing or object of per- 
ception and reflection, without considering for the time any oth- 
er part or circumstance of its nature. Abstraction may also be 
described by a reference to its office as an instrument of reason, 
which is to notice those parts of several things in which they 
agree with one another. The word means a drawing away of 
their marks of agreement from all the distinctive marks which 
the single objects have. 

Thus we may abstract from all the houses which come in our 
way certain points of agreement (as that they are covered build- 
ings, and fit for the habitation of men), and fix the attention 
upon these without regard to the points of difference (namely, 
the height, length, position, convenience, decoration). Thus, 
too, we may contemplate in the mind several different " Kings," 
putting out of our thoughts the name and individual character 
of each, and the terms and places of their reigns, and consider- 
ing only the regal office which belongs to all and each of them ; 
and we are thus enabled to designate any or every one of them 
by the common (or general) term " king," or, again, by the term 
Royalty we can express the circumstance which is common to 
them. 

It is by this drawing off that generalization is effected. 
But abstraction and generalization have not the same mean- 
ing. We can not " Generalize" without " abstracting," but we 
may perform Abstraction without Generalization. 

If, for instance, in the language of Whately, any one is think- 
ing of the " sun" without having any notion that there is more 
than one such body in the universe, he may consider it without 
any reference to its place in the sky, whether rising or setting, 
or any other situation ; or, again, he may be considering its heat 
alone, without thinking of its light; or of its light alone ; or of 
its apparent magnitude, without any reference either to its light 
or heat. Now in each of these cases there would be Abstrac- 
tion, though there would be no Generalization, as long as he 
was contemplating a single individual, that which we call the 
"Sun." 



476 LOGICAL FORMS. 

But if he came to the belief that each of the fixed stars is a 
body affording light and heat of itself, as our sun does, he might 
then, by abstracting this common circumstance, apply to all 
and each of these, the Sun of our System and the Stars, one 
common term denoting that circumstance, calling them all 
" Suns." And this would be to Generalize. 

Generalization, then, is the act of Comprehending, under a 
Common name, several objects agreeing in some point which we 
abstract from each of them, and which that common name 
serves to indicate. A General name is one which is capable of 
being truly affirmed in the same sense of each of an indefinite 
number of things. An Individual or a Singular name is a name 
which is only capable of being truly affirmed in the same sense 
of one thing. When we refer two or more individuals to a spe- 
cies, or two or more species to a common Genus, we are said to 
Generalize. The processes of generalization and abstraction are 
employed in arriving at the logical distinctions of Genus and 
Species. 

EXERCISE I. 

1. Abstract some quality from the other qualities in a field of 
Grass, and give a name to it. 

2. Abstract from the character of Bonaparte certain qualities 
which fitted him to be a Tyrant, or certain qualities that fitted 
him to be a Warrior. 

Green or brave indicates a certain quality in the concrete, 
which we can abstract from the other qualities. Greenness or 
bravery is a quality in the abstract. While in the concrete it 
is a predicate, when in the abstract it is a subject. 

EXERCISE II. 

Refer each couplet to a suitable Genus : 



Captain, 
Colonel. 


Weaver, 
Cutler. 


Sickness, 
Health. 


Gluttony. 
Ebriety. 


Tragedy, 
Comedy. 


Kingdom, 
Republic. 


Fencing, 
Dancing. 


Love, 
Hatred. 




DIVISION. 





§ 446. Logical Division is a metaphorical expression to sig- 
nify the distinct (t. e., separate) enumeration of several things 



TERMS. 477 

signified by a common term or name. This is the exact oppo- 
site of Generalization. It consists in the distribution of a Genus 
into its several species. For as in that you lay aside the differ- 
ences by which several things are distinguished, so as to call 
them all by one common name, so in Division you add on the 
differences, so as to enumerate them by their several particular 
names. Thus " Mineral" is said to be divided into stones, met- 
als, etc., and metals again into gold, iron, etc. These are call- 
ed Parts (or Members) of the division. An Individual is so 
called from its being incapable of being, in this sense, divided. 

Logical Division is different from Physical Division. What 
is true of a " logical whole" is true of each of its parts. "What 
is true of a " physical whole" is not true of its parts. Logically, 
" tree" is divided into oak, elms, pine, etc. Physically, " tree" 
is divided into root, trunk, branches, etc. There may be two 
or more logical divisions of the same Genus. Thus " Book" 
may be divided according to the size ; as, Quarto, octavo, etc. ; 
or according to its matter ; as, Poetical, historical, etc. ; or ac- 
cording to its language ; as, Latin, French, etc. The principle 
of the division must be adhered to from the first to the last. To 
begin with one principle and to introduce another, thus inter- 
mixing them, is to make a Cross Division. 

The rules for dividing correctly, in the language of "Whate- 
ly, are, 

I. That the ivhole be exactly equal to all the Parts or Mem- 
bers together. Nothing, therefore, must be included of which 
the Genus can not be affirmatively predicated; nothing ex- 
cluded of which it can. 

II. The Members [parts] must be contradistinguished, and not 
include one another, which they will do if you mix up together 
two or more kinds of division, made by introducing several dis- 
tinct classes of differences. 

Thus, if you were to divide Books into Ancient, Modern, Latin, 
French, English, Quarto, Octavo, Poems, History, etc. (whereof 
a Modern book might be French or English, a Poem or a His- 
tory, etc., a Quarto book Ancient or Modern), you would be mix- 
ing together four different kinds of division of Books, according 
to their Age, Language, Size, and Subject. And these are what 
are called Cross divisions, because they run across each other ' 3 



478 LOGICAL FORMS. 

or, in other words, are formed on several distinct principles of 
Division. 

III. A Division should not he arbitrary ; that is, its mem- 
hers should he distinguished from each other by " Differences" 
either expressed or readily understood, instead of heing set apart 
from each other at random, or without sufficient ground. 

IV. A Division should he clearly arranged as to its Members. 

Three rules are to be observed in correct division : 1. The con- 
stituent species, called the dividing members, must exclude one 
another. 2. The constituent species must be equal, together, to 
the genus divided, 3. The division must be made according to 
one principle. 

EXAMPLES. 

§ 447. Goodness of Memory may be divided into Susceptibil- 
ity, retentiveness, readiness. — Dugald Stewart. 

Happiness consists in, 1. The exercise of the social affections. 
2. The exercise of our faculties in some engaging end. 3. The 
prudent constitution of the habits. 4. Health. — Paley. 

Plane superficial Figure. 

! 

T?!S anrFnnrv ^ Rectilineal Figure. Curvilineal Figure. 



(of Rect. and Curv.) 



Triangle. Quadrilateral. Circle. Ellips 



EXERCISES. 

Distinguish by the proper conjunctions, viz., either and or, the 
cross divisions in the following enumerations : 

1. Men are Merchants, farmers, laivyers, negroes, ivhites, 
Pagans, Christians. 

2. Substantives are Masculine, feminine, proper, common, 

3. Verbs are Transitive, Intransitive, principal, auxiliary, 
Substantive, Adjective. 

DEFINITION. 

§ 448. Logical Definition always consists of the Genus and 
Differentia. The former serves to mark the points in which it 



TERMS. 479 

agrees with others of the same kind, the latter those in which it 
differs from them. A plant would Logically be defined an or- 
ganized Being, destitute of sensation ; the former of these ex- 
pressions denoting the Grenus, the latter the Difference, which 
are the parts of which Logic considers every species as consist- 
ing, and which are evidently separable by the mind alone. 
Thus, if Logic were defined to be the Art of Reasoning, we 
should explain this definition to consist in the statement of its 
"Grenus" as " an Art," and of its "difference" as the art of 
"Reasoning." 

This is accounted the most perfect and proper kind of Defini- 
tion. The " Grenus" and " Difference" are called technically 
the " metaphysical parts," as not being parts into which an in- 
dividual object can be actually divided. 

What is called a Physical Definition is made by an enu- 
meration of such parts of some object as are actually separable ; 
as a Tree, for instance, is defined by an enumeration of the root, 
trunk, branches, bark, leaves, flower, etc. 

A Definition which is made by enumerating several Proper- 
ties, or, in the case of an individual, Inseparable accidents, is 
called a Description, or, according to some writers, an Acci- 
dental Definition. An Individual can be defined only by a 
description, that is, by stating the Species and the Inseparable 
accidents. Thus " Alexander the Great" would be Defined, that 

Species. Inseparable accidents. 

is, described, as " a king" " of Macedon who subdued Persia." 
Definitions have been distinguished into nominal and real. 
A Nominal definition explains merely the meaning of the 
word defined. A Real definition explains the nature of the 
thing signified by the word. They sometimes coincide ; as, for 
instance, in the case of the circle, and so of scientific terms gen- 
erally, where the meaning of the name and the nature of the 
thing are one and the same. They, however, often differ, as 
they do when the object defined has an actual real existence in 
nature independently of our thoughts, and which, therefore, may 
possess attributes not implied by the meaning which we attach 
to the name, and which are to be discovered by observations and 
experiments. Thus a real definition of a Diamond or a Planet 
would extend much beyond a Nominal definition of the same. 



480 LOGICAL FORMS. 

The Rules for framing a Definition are, 

I. That a Definition should be adequate, comprehending nei- 
ther more nor less than the Term to be defined. For instance, 
if, in a definition of " Money," you should specify its being 
" made of metal," that would be too narrow, as excluding the 
shells used as money in some parts of Africa. If, on the other 
hand, you should define it as an " article of value given in ex- 
change for something else," that would be too wide, as it would 
include things exchanged by barter. 

II. A Definition should be clearer than the Term defined ; 
clearer, that is, to the persons you are speaking to. 

EXERCISE I. 

Analyze into their respective " G-enera" and "differences" the 
following definitions of terms : 

1. A meadow is a field devoted to pasturage. 

2. A pension is an allowance for past services. 

3. Rhetoric is the art of speaking persuasively. 

4. Bigotry is exclusive attachment to party. 

EXERCISE II. 

Define, by " G-enus" and " difference," the following terms : 

An Island, Patriotism, A chair, Politeness, 

A Garden, Prejudice, Courage, Pride. 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER II. 

1. What is the origin and meaning of the word term? 

2. Mention the several kinds of terms, and define them. 

3. Are terms limited to single words, or are they often made up of several 
words ? 

4. Mention the five predicables, and give an instance of each. 

5. Of what does the species consist as related to the genus ? 

6. What is abstraction? and generalization? and division, with the rules? 
and definition, with the rules ? 



THE PROPOSITION. 43^ 



CHAPTER III. 

THE PROPOSITION. 

§ 449. A Proposition is a sentence in which something is af- 
firmed or denied of something else. A proposition defined logic- 
ally is a "Sentence assertive" i. e., affirming or denying, " Sen- 
tence" being the Genus, and " assertive" the difference. This 
definition expresses the whole essence, and it relates entirely to 
the words of a proposition. 

In a proposition there are tivo somethings, the something 
spoken about and the something said concerning it. Thus, in 
the proposition Gold is yellow, the quality, property, or attribute 
expressed by the word yellow is affirmed of the substance gold, 
so that yellow is one part of the proposition, and gold another. 

Again, in the proposition ice is not hot, the property, quality, 
or attribute expressed by the word hot is denied of ice. Ice, 
therefore, is one part of the proposition, and hot another. 

But to say Gold yellow is to employ words to no purpose. 
The combination conveys no meaning. There are only two sep- 
arate somethings. The expression is imperfect. It needs a bond 
to connect them together. 

Hence every proposition consists of three parts : 

I. The Subject. The thing concerning which we make a 
statement, whether in the way of affirmation or denial, is called 
the Subject. In the examples above, gold, ice, are subjects, and 
we can assert of them that they are yellow or hot, or else that 
they are not so, i. e., that they are not yellow, not hot. In the 
first case, the proposition is Affirmative ; in the second, Negative. 

II. The Predicate. The thing which we connect with the 
subject is the Predicate : Yellow, hot, are predicates. They are 
asserted or predicated of the subjects gold, ice. 

III. The Copula. That part of a proposition which connects 
the subject and predicate is called the Copula. It is the word 
whieh serves as a sign to denote the existence of either an affir- 
mation or a denial. Man — mortal: Each of these words now 
stands isolated from the other. Place between them the magical 

Hh 



482 LOGICAL FORMS. 

word is, and the twain become one proposition. In this case 
the copula is affirmative. In the proposition man is not mortal, 
the copula is negative. See § 452. 

EXERCIS E. 

Form propositions by supplying the parts that are wanting in 
the following pairs : 1. The Copula to the subject and predicate : 
Summer — pleasant ; Autumn — sober ; Winter — sighing ; 
Spring — a season. 2. The Predicate to the subject and copu- 
la : The air is—< ; The sky is — ; The snow was — ; The storm 
was — . 3. The Subject to the copula and predicate : — is brave; 
— was a hero ; — is honorable ; — was a coward. 

THE PARTS OF A PROPOSITION NOT MORE THAN 
• THREE. 

§ 450. In the proposition the sun (is) shining, we have a 
Simple proposition. "We readily see that there are but three 
parts. But it must be evident to every one who reflects upon 
either what he hears or reads, that propositions are in reality 
much less simple than they have been described as being. If 
propositions are so short, how is it that sentences are so long ? 
If subjects and predicates are so simple, how became periods so 
complex ? 

The fact is, that both subjects and predicates may be made 
complex by the addition of subordinate parts. A term may 
consist of several words : 

The sun (is) shining. 

The early sun (is) brightly shining. 

The early sun, with glad beams, (is) brightly shining through 
the air. 

The early sun, with glad beams, having awakened the travel- 
er, (is) brightly shining through the air upon his path. 

Terms like those of the last three examples are called Mixed 
terms. The objects which they express are called objects of 
complex Apprehension, in opposition to objects of simple appre- 
hension, like the sun, etc. The names of objects of complex ap- 
prehension (i. e., mixed terms) are sometimes called Many-ivord- 
ed Names. 

Again, one proposition may be subordinate to another; in 



THE PROPOSITION. 4§3 

other words, a whole proposition may enter into the structure of 
many- worded names, e. g., 

1. The man (is) returning, 

2. Who was sent to market. 

Combine these, and they form but a single designation or 
name. Thus, the man who was sent to market (is) returning. 
The words, the man who was sent to market ', form but a single 
name or term. See Latham's Outlines. 

THE PARTS OF A PROPOSITION NOT FEWER THAN 

THREE. 

§ 451. Apparent contradictions to the statement that the parts 
of a Proposition are not fewer than three, are of two sorts. The 
first is referable to the practice of language, more or less gen- 
eral ; the second to the seeming properties of the copula. 

1. a. The Predicate and Copula may be contained in one 
word ; e. g., instead of saying fire is burning, we may say, as 
we generally do, fire burns. In this case the grammatical form 
of the proposition does not coincide with the logical form ; nev- 
ertheless, as it is clear that the shorter and more compendious 
form is capable of being resolved into the longer one, the state- 
ment, that the parts of a proposition are no fewer than three f 
may still hold good. 

b. The Subject and Copula may be contained in one word. 
The Latin proposition, est bonus = he is good, exemplifies this. 

c. The Subject, Copula, and Predicate may be contained in 
one word, as in the Latin voco = I am calling. 

2. The seeming properties of the Copula. — Many logicians 
have considered that, when the predicate implies simple exist- 
ence, it is expressed by the copula alone, as in such expressions 
as God is. 

This error arises from the word is being a copula and some- 
thing more. It superadds to its power of denoting the agree- 
ment or disagreement between the subject and predicate the no- 
tion of existence. The essentially relative character of the cop- 
ula is, moreover, a proof of the erroneousness of the view indi- 
cated. 

In the Hebrew language the copula is commonly omitted, and 
in the Greek this is very often the case. This is merely one 



484 LOGICAL FORMS. 

proof out of many that the structure of propositions in lan- 
guage does not always coincide with the structure of proposi- 
tions in logic. 

Questions of Appeal are implied propositions, being plainly 
equivalent either to affirmative or negative ones. Thus, "Who 
would be insane enough, without the hope of future recompense, 
to undertake constant labor ?" is equivalent to " No one would 
be (insane enough, without the hope of future recompense, to 
undertake constant labor)." 

Propositions which do not explicitly contain the copula' may 
be easily resolved into those which do. Thus, " Gold surpasses 
all metals in brilliancy" may be stated, " (xold is superior to all 
metals in brilliancy." In this case we distinguish the copula 
from the predicate. 

1. "Where the substantive verb is introduced by the adverb 
there, it is itself both copula and predicate, being equivalent to 
exist : "There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart." See § 506. 

2. The Subject will sometimes succeed the predicate, though 
its common order is to precede it. In this case it is often rep- 
resented at the beginning of the sentence by the pronoun it ; as, 
It is (to be hoped) that we shall succeed. Hence it represents 
the subject, that ive shall succeed. 

E X ERCIS E I. 

Point out the Subject and the Predicate in the following ex- 
amples : 

1. (To tell all that we think) is inexpedient. 

2. " Better (to reign in hell than serve in heaven.)" 

3. It is unlawful to kill an innocent man. 

4. Rising early is healthful. 

5. There is (no such thing as witchcraft.) 

6. There can be no natural desire of artificial good. 

7. " Sweet is the breath of morn." 

EXERCISE II. 

Express the following propositions in strict logical form, mak- 
ing the Copula, when necessary, apparent, and distinguish the 
Subject and Predicate : 

1. Are such abilities as those of man made for no purpose ? 

2. Remorse follows disobedience. 



THE PROPOSITION. 485 

3. A philosopher should understand Geometry. 

4. True friendship has a tendency to secure veracity. 

5. Who is pleased to have his all neglected ? 

DIVISION OF PROPOSITIONS. 

§ 452. 1. Categorical Propositions are those which are ex- 
pressed absolutely ; as, Ccesar was a tyrant. 

Hypothetical Propositions are those which are expressed con- 
ditionally ; as, If Ccesar ivas a tyrant, he deserved death. 

2. Propositions are divided, according to their Quality, into 
Affirmative and Negative ; as, Birds fly ; man is not perfect. 
An affirmative proposition is one whose copula is affirmative, as 
in the first example. A negative proposition is one whose cop- 
ula is negative, as in the second example. 

3. Propositions are divided, according to their Quantity, into 
Universal and Particular ; as, England is an island; All 
tyrants are miserable ; No spendthrift is happy. These are 
Universal propositions. The Subject in each of these proposi- 
tions is taken Universally, as standing for any thing and every 
thing that the term is capable of being applied to in the same 
sense. A term so taken is said to be " distributed." 

Some islands are fertile ; All tyrants are not assassinated^ 
are Particular propositions. The Subject in each of these prop- 
ositions is taken Particularly, as standing only for part of the 
things signified by it, and the term is said to be undistributed., 
The words all, every, as in the last example, when prefixed to 
Negative propositions, are not to be considered as signs of uni- 
versality. For all tyrants are not assassinated is equivalent to 
some tyrants are not assassinated. This last is evidently a 
Particular and not a Universal proposition. Singular proposi- 
tions, as when a proper name is used, are reckoned as Univer- 
sal ; as, Brutus was a Roman, i. e., the whole of Brutus. 

1. A Universal Affirmative : All coivards are cruel. U. A. 

2. A Universal Negative : No coward is cruel. U. N. 

3. A Particular Affirmative : Some kings are assassinated, 
P. A. 

4. A Particular Negative : All kings are not assassinated, 
P.N. 



486 LOGICAL FORMS. 



EXERCISES. 



Give the Names of the following propositions : 

1. Cicero was an eloquent patriot. 

2. If Cicero was a patriot, he ought not to have been put to 
death. 

3. Whoever is capable of deliberate crime is responsible. 

4. No one is gratuitously wicked. 

5. All the accused were not guilty. 

6. Some blacks are civilized. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



§ 453. "When a term or general name stands for each and ev- 
ery individual which it denotes, it is said to be distributed. It 
is equivalent to the phrase " taken universally" Thus, in the 
proposition All men are mortal, the Subject, man, is distributed, 
because mortality is affirmed of each and every man. The Pred- 
icate, mortal, is not distributed, because the only mortals who 
are spoken of in the proposition are those who happen to be men, 
while the word, for aught it appears, may (and in fact does) 
comprehend under it an indefinite number of objects besides 
man. 

In the proposition Some men are mortal, both the Subject 
and the Predicate are undistributed, that is, they are taken par ~ 
ticularly, in other words, only in part. In the following, No 
man is perfect, both the Subject and the Predicate are distrib- 
uted. Not only is the attribute perfection denied of the entire 
class, but that class is severed and cast out from the whole 
of the class perfect, and not merely from some part of that 
class. 

The Predicate of a proposition has no such sign as " all" or 
" some" affixed to it, which denote, when affixed to the Subject, 
the distribution or non-distribution of that term. And yet it is 
plain that each Term of the proposition, whether subject or pred- 
icate, must always be meant to stand either for the whole or for 
part of what is signified by it, or, in other words, be distributed 
or undistributed. When I say x is y, the term y is considered 
as standing for part of the things to which it is applicable, in 
other words, is undistributed. It makes no difference whether 



THE PROPOSITION. 487 

I say " all x" or " some x" is y. The Predicate is equally un- 
distributed in both cases, the only thing denoted by all and some 
being the distribution or non-distribution of the Subject. 

1. All Universal propositions (and no particular) distribute 
the Subject. 

2. All Negative (and no affirmative), the Predicate. 

EXERCISE. 

In which of the following propositions is the Subject, and in 
which the Predicate, distributed ? 

1. All men are sinful. 

2. "Washington was the savior of his country. 

3. No human government allows absolute liberty. 

CONVERSION. 

§ 454. Conversion of a proposition is the transposition of the 
terms. When the Subject is made the Predicate, and the Pred- 
icate the Subject, a proposition is said to be converted. No 
conversion is employed for any logical purpose, unless it be ilia- 
tive, i. e., when the truth of the Converse is implied in the given 
proposition ; e. g\, 

No virtuous man is a rebel, therefore 

No rebel is a virtuous man. 

Some boasters are cowards, therefore 

Some cowards are boasters. 

Conversion can, then, be illative only when no term is dis- 
tributed in the Converse which was not distributed in the given 
proposition. In a Just Definition the terms are exactly equiv- 
alent, or, as they are called, convertible terms ; it is no matter 
which is made the subject and which the predicate. 

" All equiangular triangles are equilateral, and 

All equilateral triangles are equiangular." 

Here the terms are convertible. 

opposition. 

§ 455. Two propositions are said to be opposed to each other 
when, having the same subject and predicate, they differ in 
quantity, in quality, or both. It is evident that with any given 
subject and predicate you may state four distinct propositions, 



488 LOGICAL FORMS. 

any two of which are said to be opposed ; hence there are four 
kinds of opposition, viz. : 

1. The two Universal (U. A. andU. N.) are called contraries. 

2. The two Particular (P. A. and P. N.), sub-contraries. 

3. A Universal Affirmative and a Particular Affirmative (U. 
A. and P. A.) ; or a Universal Negative and a Particular Nega- 
tive (U. N. and P. N.), subalterns. 

4. A Universal Affirmative and a Particular Negative (U. A. 
and P. N.) ~] or a Universal Negative and a Particular Affirma- 
tive (U. N. and P. A.), contradictories. 

Contrary propositions may "both be false, but can not both be 
true. Sub-contrary may both be true, but can not both be false. 
Of two Sub-alternate propositions, the truth of the Universal 
proves the truth of the Particular ; and the falsity of the partic- 
ular proves the falsity of the universal, but not vice versa. Of 
two Contradictory propositions, one must be true and the other 
false : 

^ 5 ^t'V S l\ Contraries. 
No X (U. N.) is Y S 

Same X (P. A) is Y \ Sub „ contraries . 

SomeX (P.M.) is not Y > 

All X (U. A.) is Y 



Some X (P. A.) is Y S I 

No X (U.N.) is Y I f Subalterns - 

Some X (P. N.) is not Y 5 J 

All X (U. A.) is Y 

SomeX (P.N.) is not Y 



No X (U. N.) is Y I f C 
Some X (P. A.) is Y > J 



Contradictories. 



SIMPLE PROPOSITIONS AND COMPLEX. 

§ 456. m In order for a proposition to be Simple, its terms must 
be simple. The Substantive or pronoun, forming one of them, 
must be the name of an object of incomplex apprehension. The 
Adjective or participle, that very often forms one, must also be 
simple. Finally, the Yerb, if it stand instead of a participle and 
copula, must also be simple. A Complex proposition is one 
which has a complex term, or ivhose verb, if it stand for both 
predicate and copula, is modified by some adjunct. See § 442. 
and § 535. 



THE PROPOSITION 489 

COMPOUND PROPOSITIONS. 

§ 457. Compound Propositions are those which are made up 
of two or more subjects or predicates, or both. They are either 
Conjunctive or Disjunctive, according as the connection subsist- 
ing between those different subjects or predicates is of a copula- 
tive or disjunctive character. 

1. He is both a knave and a fool (Conjunctive). 

2. Every action is good or bad (Disjunctive). 

EXERCISE. 

Distinguish the compound propositions from such as are com- 
pounded in appearance, and state which of the former are con- 
junctive and which disjunctive, and point out the complex. 

1. Friendship either finds or makes men equal. 

2. He who voluntarily lives quite alone must be either more 
or less than a man. 

3. The Doctrine which places the chief Grood in pleasure is 
unworthy of a philosopher. 

4. It is not the cross, but the cause, which makes the Martyr. 

5. The subject and predicate are both distributed in universal 
negatives. 

6. The sun, moon, and stars can not all be seen at once. 

7. Either this man hath sinned, or his parents. 

8. Extreme riches and poverty are alike to be deprecated. 

indefinite propositions. 

§ 458. An Indefinite Proposition is one in which it is left 
undetermined by the form of the expression whether it is to be 
considered Universal or Particular ; as, Birds sing. "We may 
know from facts that this ought to be considered as a particular 
proposition = some birds sing, but not from the expression itself. 
" Birds come from eggs." We may know from facts that this 
ought to be considered as a universal proposition = all birds come 
from eggs, but not from the expression itself. "We are often 
obliged to judge from the subject matter whether a proposition 
is Universal or Particular. 



490 LOGICAL FORMS. 



TRIFLING PROPOSITIONS. 

§ 459. Trifling Propositions are those in which the relation 
of the Predicate 'to the Subject is such that to connect the one 
with the other is to assert little or nothing. They have the 
grammatical structure of a proposition, but not the logical force 
of an assertion. 

Under the head of such propositions we may class, (1.) All 
identical propositions, namely, those in which the Predicate is 
the same as the Subject; as, "A triangle is a triangle." (2.) 
Those in which it is a synonym of it ; as, " To pardon is to for- 
give." Akin to these is the enunciation of truths that are so ob- 
vious as to be truisms ; as, " Man is rational." 

Sometimes, however, identical propositions in form are not 
trifling propositions, as when an emphasis is thrown upon the 
copula or the predicate ; as, " Home is home ;" " I am that I 
am." 

THE RELATION OF THE PROPOSITION TO THE 
PARTS OF SPEECH. 

§ 460. The Parts of Speech are determined by the structure 
of propositions ; and a word is a Noun, a Conjunction, or a 
Verb, according to either the place it takes in a proposition, 
or the relation it bears to one. This will be fully shown from 
the following statement. 

1. Is the Grammatical form of a word a sufficient test ? No 
substantive, in the etymological signification of the term, ends 
in -slv in Greek, while infinitive verbs do so end. Nevertheless, 
the infinitive forms, to cpdovelv, ev tgj (pdovelv, are, in value, not 
verbs, but substantives. For the purposes of Syntax, at least, 
the logical test, as opposed to the etymological test, is indispens- 
able. This is especially true in the English language, which is 
more irregular in its etymological forms than the classical lan- 
guages. In a given case we do not think of saying what part 
of speech a word is until we have seen it used in a sentence. 
The etymological form, then, is an insufficient test. 

2. Neither is the Phonetic form (i. e., the sound) of a word a 
test. The same combination of sounds may have a variety of 
meanings, and may sometimes constitute one part of speech, 



THE PROPOSITION. 491 

sometimes another. The word up is an Adverb in the sentence 
I go up in a balloon ; a Preposition in the sentence I go up a 
tree. 

"Love is not love 
Which alters when it alteration finds." 

" I do love thee so 
That I will shortly send thy soul to heaven." 

" He was present at that love feast." 
How do we know what part of speech love is in these several 
cases? Evidently from the office which it performs, and not 
from its form. It is a Noun, or a Verb, or an Adjective, accord- 
ing to its office in these three propositions. A part of speech 
can, in a given case, be distinguished only by examining the 
speech itself, and the principal speech is the proposition. 

THE PARTS OF SPEECH WHICH COMPOSE SIMPLE 
PROPOSITIONS. 

§ 461. In the classification of the parts of speech already giv- 
en, we have seen what is the relation which each bears to the 
proposition. 

The Substantive. A word that can enter into the structure 
of a simple proposition either as the subject or the predicate, is 
called a Substantive or noun; as, "Iron is hard." Here the 
word iron is the subject, one of the three parts of a simple prop- 
osition. "Washington was president." Here the word presi- 
dent is the predicate, one of the three parts of a simple proposi- 
tion. A noun is the name of any thing that exists, or that is 
conceived to exist. Hence we see how it can form the subject 
of a proposition. " A name," says Hobbes, " is a word taken at 
pleasure, to serve for a mark, which may raise in our mind a 
thought like to some thought such as we had before, and which, 
being pronounced to others, may be to them a sign of what 
thought the speaker had before in his mind." See § 243. 

The Adjective. A word which can enter into the structure 
of a simple proposition as a predicate, but not as a subject, is 
called an Adjective ; as, " Snow is white." Here white is the 
predicate of a simple proposition, but it can not be the subject. 
We can not say white is snow in the sense of predicating snow 
of white. See 6 264. 



492 LOGICAL FORMS. 

The Pronoun. A word which stands for a noun, and can en- 
ter into the structure of a simple proposition either as the sub- 
ject or the predicate, is a Pronoun. The meaning of a pronoun 
varies with the variable relations of objects to which it is ap- 
plied, while the meaning of nouns expresses the constant char- 
acteristics of the objects to which it is applied. Nouns are ab- 
solute names, pronouns relative. See § 288. 

The Verb. A word capable of forming by itself both the 
predicate and copula of a proposition, is a Verb. See § 317. 

Sometimes even the substantive-verb itself is both copula and 
predicate, namely, where existence alone is affirmed or denied ; 
as, " G-od is." Here existing is the predicate. See § 346. 

Articles. Certain words which serve to mark the subject 
of a proposition as Definite or Indefinite, but with less precision 
than the demonstrative pronoun or the numeral. These words 
are an and the. See § 284. 

PARTS OF SPEECH WHICH CAN ENTER ONLY INTO 
COMPLEX PROPOSITIONS. 

§ 462. Adverbs. A word which can not by itself form the 
constituent part of a simple proposition, but which can, in com- 
bination with Verbs or Adjectives, form a part of a complex prop- 
osition, is called an Adverb. See § 361. 

Prepositions. A word which can not by itself form a con- 
stituent part of a simple proposition, but which can enter into a 
complex term to express some relation, is a Preposition. 

When a word originally a preposition connects with a verb, 
and simply indicates the manner in which an action takes place, 
it is, in such case, an adverb. See § 371. 

PARTS OF SPEECH WHICH DO NOT ENTER INTO THE 
STRUCTURE OF PROPOSITIONS. 

§ 463. Conjunctions. A word which connects two proposi- 
tions, without entering into the construction of either, is called a 
Conjunction. " The day is bright, because the sun is shining." 

A conjunction is a word denoting the relation which one prop- 
osition bears to another. Some words are employed sometimes 
as conjunctions and sometimes as prepositions.; as, All fled but 
he. Here the word but is a conjunction, and the propositions 



THE PROPOSITION. 493 

are two in number : 1. All fled ; 2. but he did not fly. KM fled 
but him. Here the word but is a preposition, meaning except, 
and the proposition is single. See § 375. 

Interjections. A word which can not enter into any propo- 
sition, or connect two propositions, but simply expresses surprise 
or any emotion, is called an Interjection. They have a mean- 
ing, but not a meaning connected with assertion. See § 381. 

EXERCISES. 

1. In two different propositions use the same word (i. e., the 
same in form) as a Substantive and a Yerb. 

2. In two different propositions use the same word as a Pro- 
noun and a Conjunction. 

3. In two different propositions use the same word as an Ad- 
jective and an Adverb. 

4. In two different propositions use the same word as an Ad- 
verb and a Preposition. 

5. In two different propositions use the same word as a Con- 
junction and a Preposition. 

6. In two different propositions use the same word as a Con- 
junction and an Adverb. 

7. In three different propositions use the same word as a Sub- 
stantive or Adjective, and a Yerb (stone). 

8. In two different propositions express different degrees of 
definiteness by the articles. 

9. Change two affirmative propositions into two negative ones 
by using different negatives. 

10. Change two propositions into two questions, and mention 
which are their predicates. 

THE RELATION OF CERTAIN LOGICAL FORMS TO 
CERTAIN STATES OF THE MIND. 

§ 464. Human language is but a transcript of the various 
states of the human mind in its various movements. Logical 
forms are but an exhibition of the movements of the mind when 
employed in reasoning. 

As a preliminary statement, the following extract from Whate- 
ly's " Logic" may be useful in showing the connection between 
language and the mind. 



494 LOGICAL FORMS. 

" I. There are three operations (or states) of the mind which 
are immediately concerned in argument : 1st. Simple Apprehen- 
sion ; 2d. Judgment ; 3d. Discourse or Reasoning. 

" 1st. Simple Apprehension (mere apprehension) is that act or 
condition of the mind in which it receives a notion of any object, 
and is analogous to the perception of the senses. It is either 
complex or incomplex. Incomplex apprehension is of one object 
or of several, without any relation being perceived between 
them, as of ' a manf l a horse,' i cards.' Complex is of several, 
ivith such a relation, as of ' a man on horseback,'' i a pack of 
cards.' 

"2d. Judgment is the comparing together in the mind two 
of the notions (or ideas) which are the objects of apprehension, 
whether complex or incomplex, and pronouncing that they agree 
or disagree with each other (or that one of them belongs or 
does not belong to the other) ; judgment is, therefore, either af- 
firmative or negative. 

" 3d. Reasoning (or discourse) is the act of proceeding from 
one judgment to another, founded upon that one (or the result 
of it). 

" Each of these operations is liable to a corresponding defect, 
namely, ' Simple Apprehension' to indistinctness ; i Judgment' 
to falsity ; and ' Reasoning' to inconclusiveness. 

" II. Language affords the signs by which these operations 
of the mind are expressed and communicated. The notion ob- 
tained in an act of apprehension is called, when expressed in 
language, a term ; an act of judgment is expressed by a prop- 
osition ; an act of reasoning by an argument (which, when 
regularly expressed, is a syllogism)." See § 466. 

It is desirable to avail ourselves of any rules and caution as 
to the employment of language that may serve to guard against 
the defects just mentioned, to the utmost degree that is possi- 
ble ; in other words, to guard, by the best rules we can frame, 
against terms not conveying a distinct meaning ; against false 
propositions, mistaken for true ; and against apparent argu- 
ments, which are, in reality, inconclusive, though likely to be 
mistaken for real arguments. 



THE PROPOSITION. 495 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER III. 

1. What is a proposition'? 

2. Of how many parts does a proposition consist? 

3. What is the subject? The predicate ? The copula? 

4. Give examples of these three parts. 

5. Can the parts of a proposition be more than three? 

6. How can the subject and predicate be made complex? 

7. Give an example of the manner in which they can be made complex. 

8. Can the parts of a proposition be fewer than three ? 

9. Exhibit apparent contradictions to the statement that the parts of a prop- 
osition can not be fewer than three. 

10. In what language is the copula commonly omitted ? 

11. What is said of questions of appeal? 

12. Into what can propositions which do not explicitly contain the copula 
be resolved? 

13. What is said of the substantive verb when it is introduced by the ad- 
verb there ? 

14. When the subject of a proposition succeeds the predicate, by what word 
is it represented ? 

15. What are categorical propositions? Give an example. 

16. What are hypothetical propositions? Give an example. 

17. How are propositions divided according to their quality? Give ex- 
amples. 

18. How are propositions divided according to their quantity? Give an 
example of a universal affirmative and of a universal negative ; of a particu- 
lar affirmative and of a particular negative. 

19. When is a term said to be distributed? 

20. What propositions distribute the subject, and what propositions distrib- 
ute the predicate ? 

21. What is conversion? Give an example. 

22. When are terms convertible ? 

23. What is opposition, and how many kinds of opposition are there ? Give 
examples * 

24. What is a simple proposition? and what is a complex proposition? 

25. What are compound propositions? Give an instance. 

26. What is an indefinite proposition ? Give an instance. 

27. What are trifling propositions ? Give an instance. 

28. How are the parts of speech determined? Exhibit the proof. 

29. Mention the parts of speech which compose simple propositions; and 
those which can enter only into complex propositions ; and those which do not 
enter into the structure of propositions. 

30. How many operations of the mind are concerned with argument? To 
what defect is each of these exposed ? What logical forms are adapted to 
these several operations of the mind ? 



496 LOGICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER IY. 

ARGUMENT. 

§ 465. Thus far we have dealt with Terms as expressing the 
simple apprehension of the mind, and Assertions as expressing 
an act of Judgment ; we now proceed to the subject of Argu- 
ment as expressing the act of Reasoning. 

An Argument is defined as an Expression in which, from 
something laid down (assumed as true), something else is con- 
cluded to be true, as following necessarily from the other. 

A Conclusion is a proposition proved by Argument, and is al- 
ways drawn from two other propositions, called the Premises. 

The Premises are the two propositions from which the con- 
clusion is drawn, and are so called because they are premised, or 
put before it. 

Thus, " Every tyrant deserves death. 

Caesar was a tyrant ; 

Therefore he deserved death." 

Here the first proposition is a Premise ; the second proposition 
is a Premise ; the third proposition is the Conclusion. The three 
propositions taken together is an Argument. 

An Argument sometimes has only one premise expressed, 
while the other is suppressed, as being admitted. Thus, " Cae- 
sar was a tyrant, therefore he deserved death." Here we have 
but one premise expressed, but the other is understood. This, 
indeed, is the more common form. 

Every Argument consists of two parts : that which is proved, 
and that by means of which it is proved ; the former, before it 
is proved, is called the question ; when proved, the conclusion ; 
that which is used to prove it, if stated last, is called the reason, 
and is introduced by the conjunction " because" or some other 
causal conjunction ; as, " Caesar deserved death because he was 
a tyrant." If the conclusion be stated last, which is the strict 
logical form, then that which is employed to prove it is called 
the premise, and the conclusion is introduced by some illative^ 
as therefore; as, " Caesar was a tyrant, therefore he deserved 
death." 



ARGUMENT. 497 

Arguments thus stated, without the third proposition, which 
is in a syllogism, are called Enthymemes. See § 467. "We 
are dependent, therefore we should be humble." Here the major 
premise is suppressed. 

In ordinary language, the word " Argument" is often employ- 
ed to denote the Premises alone, or sometimes that one of the 
premises which is expressed when the other is understood ; as 
when one speaks of proving so and so by this or that argument, 
meaning by such and such a Premise. 

SYLLOGISM. 

§ 466. A Syllogism is an argument so expressed that the con- 
clusiveness of it is manifest from the mere form of expression 
alone, independently of the meaning of the words ; as, Every X 
is Y ; Z is X ; therefore Z is Y. If the premises are assumed 
to be true, the conclusion must follow. The Premises here are, 
1. Every X is Y, which is the Major Premise ; 2. Z is X, which 
is the Minor Premise. Z is Y, is the Conclusion. 

Let X, Y, and Z stand for any terms whatever, the conclu- 
sion must follow from the very form of the expression, according 
to the following general statement : 

1. Any thing whatever (as Y) affirmed of a whole class 

2. Under which class something else (as Z) is comprehended, 

3. May be affirmed of that (namely, Z) which is so compre- 
hended. 

1. Every Syllogism must have three, and only three, Terms; 
viz., the Middle term, and the two terms of the Conclusion or 
Question. Of these, 1. The Subject of the conclusion is called 
the Minor term; 2. Its predicate, the Major term; and, 3. 
The Middle term is that with which each of the others is sep- 
arately compared, in order to judge of their agreement or dis- 
agreement with each other. Thus, in the above syllogism, Z is 
the minor term, Y is the major term, and X is the middle term. 
The 'major term is so called from its being of more extensive 
signification than the minor. 

2. Every Syllogism must have three, and only three, Prop- 
ositions ; viz., 1. The Major Premise, in which the major term 
is compared with the middle ; 2. The Minor Premise, in which 

Ii 



498 LOGICAL FORMS. 

the minor term is compared with the middle ; and, 3. The Con- 
clusion, in which the minor term is compared with the major. 
The Major Premise is usually placed first. When terms are 
said to be compared with each other, it is meant that one of 
them is affirmed or denied by the other. 

Of the two premises, the Major is, in common discourse, 
called the " Principle," and the Minor Premise the " Reason." 

CANONS AND RULES. 

1st Canon. — Two terms which agree with one and the same 
third may be declared to agree with each other. 

2d Canon. — Two terms, whereof one agrees and the other 
disagrees with one and the same third, may be pronounced to 
disagree with each other. 

When two terms are brought together as subject and predi- 
cate of a proposition, they are described, in technical language, 
as agreeing or disagreeing with each other, according as the 
one is affirmed or denied of the other. The former of these can- 
ons applies to affirmative, the latter to negative propositions. 

1st Rule. — A Syllogism must have three, and only three, 
Terms. 

2d Rule. — It must have three, and but three, Propositions. 

3d Rule. — The Middle term must be one only, i. e., nofc 
double ; must be unequivocal ; and must be, in one at least 
of the premises, distributed. 

4th Rule. — No Term is to be distributed in the Conclusion 
that was not distributed in the Premise (or there must be no 
" illicit" process). 

5th Rule. — One at least of the premises must be affirmative ; 
since, if both were negative, the Middle term would not be pro- 
nounced either to agree with each of the "Extremes," or to 
agree with one and to disagree with the other, but to disagree 
with both ; whence nothing can be inferred ; as, " No X is Y, 
and Z is not X," evidently affords no ground for comparing Y 
and Z together. 

6th Rule. — If one premise be negative, the Conclusion must 
be negative ; since, inasmuch as the other premise must be af- 
firmative, the Middle will have been assumed to agree with one 
of the " Extremes," and to disagree with the other. 



ARGUMENT. 499 

ft 

EXERCIS E. 

Point out the three Propositions in each of the following Syl- 
logisms, and name them ; also each Subject, Predicate, and Cop- 
ula ; also the Major term, the Minor term, and the Middle term : 

1. 2. 3. 4. 

AllBisC; NoBisC; All B is C ; No B is C ; 

All A is B ; All A is B ; Some A is B ; Some A is B ; 
Therefore Therefore Therefore Therefore 

All A is C. No A is C. Some A is C. Some A is not C. 

1. Every dispensation of Providence is beneficial ; 
Afflictions are dispensations of Providence ; 
Therefore they are beneficial. 

2. No predaceous animals are ruminant ; 
The lion is a predaceous animal ; 
Therefore the lion is not ruminant. 

3. All tyrants deserve death ; 
Caesar was a tyrant ; 
Therefore he deserved death. 

4. No one who lives on terms of confidence with another is 

justified in killing him ; 
Brutus lived on terms of confidence with Csesar ; 
Brutus, therefore, was not justified in killing Csesar. 

The Mode of a Syllogism is the designation of the three Prop- 
ositions it contains (in the order in which they stand), according 
to their respective Quantity and Quality ; that is, according as 
each proposition is universal or particular, affirmative or nega- 
tive ; that is, according as each proposition is A, E, I, or 0. Out 
of sixty-four combinations obtained by 4x4x4, there are only 
eleven modes in which any syllogism can be expressed. 

The Figure of a Syllogism is the situation of the Middle term 
in the two premises respectively with relation to the two Ex- 
tremes (or Terms) of the conclusion, namely, the Major and Mi- 
nor terms. 

Let X be the Middle term, Y the Major term, and Z the Mi- 
nor term. 

In the First Figure the Middle term is made the Subject of 
the Major premise , and the Predicate of the Minor ; as, Every 
X is Y ; Z is X ; therefore Z is Y. 



500 LOGICAL FORMS. 

^Ul electrical phenomena (X) are measurable (Y) ; 

Magnetism (Z) is an Electrical phenomenon (X) ; 

Therefore it (Z) is measurable (Y). 

Here the middle term is less extensive than the major, and 
more extensive than the minor. 

In the Second Figure the Middle term is the Predicate of 
each Premise. In this, none but negative conclusions can be 
proved, since one of the premises must be negative, in order 
that the Middle term may be (by being the predicate of a "Neg- 
ative) distributed ; as, No Y is X ; Z is X ; therefore Z is not Y. 

The nervous fluid will not travel along a tied nerve ; 

Electricity will travel along a tied nerve ; 

Therefore Electricity is not the nervous fluid. 

Here the Middle term is more extensive than the major or the 
minor term. 

In the Third Figure the Middle term is the Subject of each 
premise. In this Figure none but particular conclusions can fol- 
low ; as, Every X is Y ; every X is Z ; therefore some Z is Y. 

All virtuous men are conscientious ; 

All virtuous men are happy ; 

Therefore some who are happy are conscientious. 

Here the Middle term, " virtuous men," is less extensive than 
either the major or the minor term. 

The Fourth Figure (Y is X ; X is Z ; therefore Z is Y) is 
omitted by some logicians as awkward and unnecessary. 

THE ENTHYMEME. 

§ 467. An Enthymeme is a syllogism with one premise sup- 
pressed. It is an abridged form of an argument. This is the 
ordinary form of speaking and writing. See § 465. 

E XERCIS E. 

Draw out the following Enthymemes into regular syllogisms : 

1. Caesar was a tyrant, therefore he deserved death. 

2. The Epicureans can not be regarded as true philosophers, 
for they did not reckon virtue as a good in itself. 

3. Some reviewers do not refrain from condemning books 
which they have not read ; they are, therefore, not candid. 

4. How can ye believe who receive honor one of another ? 



ARGUMENT. 501 

RHETORICAL ENTHYMEME. 

§ 468. The Rhetorical Enthymeme is a sentence which con- 
tains the materials of a syllogism, but does not itself furnish a 
legitimate conclusion. The concurrence of several defective syl- 
logisms of this sort are equivalent to a demonstrative one. In 
the investigation of the authorship of the Letters of Junius, the 
following defective Enthymemes have been employed, which, 
taken together, form a strong case : 

The author of " Junius" wrote a particular hand ; 
Sir Philip Francis wrote the same kind of hand ; 
Therefore Sir Philip Francis is the author of " Junius." 

The author of " Junius" made certain mistakes in correcting 

proof-sheets ; 
Sir Philip Francis made the same mistakes ; 
Therefore Sir Philip Francis is the author of " Junius." 

The author of " Junius" had a particular style ; 

Sir Philip Francis had the same style ; 

Therefore Sir Philip Francis is the author of " Junius." 

The author of " Junius" is guilty of an anomalous use of cer- 
tain words ; 
Sir Philip Francis is guilty of the same ; 
Therefore Sir Philip Francis is the author of " Junius." 

The author of " Junius" employs certain images ; 

Sir Philip Francis employs the same ; 

Therefore Sir Philip Francis is the author of " Junius." 

The author of " Junius" ceased to write at a particular time ; 
Sir Philip Francis must have ceased to write at the same time ; 
Therefore Sir Philip Francis is the author of " Junius." 

CONDITIONAL SYLLOGISMS. 

§ 469. In a Conditional Proposition there are two members 
(categorical propositions), whereof one is asserted to depend on 
the other. That on which the other depends is called the Ante- 
cedent ; that which depends on this, the Consequent ; as, If 

Antecedent. Consequent. 

" this man is a murderer," " he deserves death." The Anteced- 
ent being assumed to be true, the Consequent is granted as true 



502 LOGICAL FORMS. 

also. And this may be considered from two points of view : 1st. 
Allowing that the Antecedent is true, the Consequent must be 
true ; 2d. Supposing the Antecedent were true, the Consequent 
would be true. Hence there are two kinds of conditional syllo- 
gisms, namely, the Constructive and the Destructive. If A is 
B, X is Y. Let this be the Major Premise. Then if you add, 
"but A is B, therefore X is Y," this forms a Constructive Syllo- 
gism. If you say X is not Y, therefore A is not B, this is a De- 
structive Syllogism. Thus, " If this river has tides, the sea into 
which it flows must have tides ;" then, if I add, " this river has 
tides," it follows, in conclusion, " that the sea into which it 
flows has tides," which is a Constructive Syllogism. If I add, 
" the sea into which it flows has not tides," it follows that " this 
river has not tides," which is a Destructive Syllogism. 

SORITES. 

§ 470. Sorites is a series of Arguments in which the Conclu- 
sion of each is made one of the Premises of the next. 

EXERCISE. 

1. A is B ; B is C ; C is D ; D is E ; .-. A is E. 

2. The Epicurean Deities are without action ; 
Without action there is no virtue ; 
Without virtue there is no happiness ; 

The Epicurean Deities are therefore without happiness. 

3. Wilkes was a favorite with the populace ; 

He who is a favorite with the populace must know how to 
manage them ; 

He who knows how to manage them must well under- 
stand their character ; 

He who well understands their character must hold them 
in contempt : 

Wilkes must, therefore, have held the populace in contempt. 

DILEMMA. 

§ 471. Dilemma is an argument equally conclusive by con- 
trary suppositions. It implies a double antecedent : 

1. If you have in the major premise several antecedents,' all 
with the same consequent, then these Antecedents, being (in the 



ARGUMENT. 503 

minor) disjunctively granted (i. e., it being granted that some one 
of them is true), the one common consequent may he inferred. 

If A is B, C is D ; if X is Y, C is D ; hut either A is B, or X 
is Y ; therefore C is D. " If the "blessed in heaven have no de- 
sires, they will he perfectly content ; so they will if their desires 
are fully gratified ; hut either they will have no desires, or have 
them fully gratified ; therefore they will he perfectly content." 

2. But if the several antecedents have each a different con- 
sequent, then the Antecedents heing, as before, disjunctively 
granted, you can only disjunctively infer the consequents. If 
A is B, C is D ; and if X is Y, E is F ; hut either A is B, or X 
is Y; therefore, either C is D, or E is F. " If iEschines joined 
in the public rejoicings, he is inconsistent ; if he did not join, he 
is unpatriotic ; hut he either joined or not, therefore he is either 
inconsistent or unpatriotic." 

3. When you have several Antecedents, with each a different 
consequent, which consequents, instead of wholly denying, you 
disjunctively deny, then, in the Conclusion, you deny disjunct- 
ively the Antecedents. If A is B, C is D ; if X is Y, E is F ; 
hut either C is not D, or E is not F ; therefore, either A is not 
B, or X is not Y. "If this man were wise, he would not speak 
irreverently of Scripture in jest ; and if he were good, he would 
not do so in earnest ; hut he does it either in jest or in earnest ; 
therefore he is either not wise or not good." 

In the first we have the simple constructive dilemma ; in the 
second, the complex constructive ; in the third, the destructive. 
Every Dilemma may he reduced into tv*o or more simple con- 
ditional syllogisms. 

This kind of Argument was urged hy the opponents of Don 
Carlos, the pretender to the Spanish throne, which he claimed 
as heir-male, against his niece the Queen, hy virtue of the Salic 
law excluding females, which was established (contrary to the 
ancient Spanish usage) by a former King of Spain, and was re- 
pealed by King Ferdinand. They say, " If a King of Spain has 
a right to alter the law of succession, Carlos has no claim ; and 
if no King of Spain has that right, Carlos has no claim ; but a 
King of Spain either has or has not such right; therefore (on 
either supposition) Carlos has no claim." 



504 LOGICAL FORMS. 



ANALOGY. 

§ 472. Analogical Propositions are those of which one of 
them asserts a Principle manifesting itself in a given set of cir- 
cumstances, while the other asserts the same principle as mani- 
fested in all circumstances, or, more commonly, in a different set 
of circumstances. And an Argument from Analogy is a direct 
and unconditional inference of the latter of these two proposi- 
tions from the first. For example, from the principle expressed 
in the proposition, " By speaking ill, men learn to speak ill," 
may he inferred, hy analogy, the two following Propositions : 

By speaking, men learn to he ahle to speak. 

By speaking well, men learn to be able to speak well. 

DEDUCTION, INDUCTION, AND EXAMPLE. 

§ 473. Deduction is the process of reasoning from a general 
principle to a particular case. 

Induction is the process of reasoning from particular cases to 
a general principle. 

Example is the process of reasoning from one particular case 
to another. 

It is absurd to choose by lot an officer in whom skill is 
needed ; 

It is, therefore, absurd to choose a general by lot. 
Here we have a specimen of Deductive reasoning. 

It is absurd to choose by lot a musician, architect, pilot, or 
physician ; 

It is, therefore, absurd to choose by lot an officer in whom 
skill is needed. 
Here we have a specimen of Inductive reasoning. 

It is absurd to choose a pilot by lot , 

It is, therefore, absurd to choose a general by lot. 
Here we have a specimen of reasoning from Example. 

fallacies. 

§ 474. A Fallacy is a deceptive or unsound argument, by 
which a man is convinced, or endeavors to convince others, of 
what is not really proved. 

I. The Undistributed Middle. 



ARGUMENT. 505 

"White is a color Every X is Y ; 

Black is a color; therefore .... Every Z is Y; 
Black is white Every X is Z. 

" Some animals are beasts ; 
Some animals are birds ; therefore 
Some birds are beasts." 

The fallacy of the reasoning in these two syllogisms is evident. 
The middle term is not distributed. It is a rule that the mid- 
dle term must be distributed once at least in the premises (i. e., 
by being the subject of a universal, or predicate of a negative. 
See § 466), and once is sufficient ; since, if one extreme has been 
compared to a part of the middle term, and another to the ivhole 
of it, they must have both been compared to the same. 

If the middle term is ambiguous, there are, in reality, two mid- 
dle terms in sense, though but one in sound. An ambiguous 
middle term is either an equivocal term used in different senses 
in the two premises, e. g., 

Light is contrary to darkness; 
Feathers are light ; therefore 
Feathers are contrary to darkness, 
or a term not distributed. 

II. Illicit Process. — No term must be distributed in the con- 
clusion which was not distributed in one of the premises, for 
that would be to employ the whole of a term in the conclusion, 
when you had employed only a part of it in the premise ; e. g\, 
in the following there is an illicit process of the major term : 

All quadrupeds are animals Every Y is Z ; 

A bird is not a quadruped ; therefore.. . . . No X is Y ; 

A bird is not an animal No X is Z. 

In the following there is an illicit process of the minor term : 

All independent persons deserve the elective suffrage ; 

Englishmen are independent persons ; therefore 

They deserve the elective suffrage. 

If this Conclusion is proved, the minor premise must imply 
that all Englishmen are independent. But this is not the case ; 
and therefore the argument is fallacious, from the insufficient 
induction of the minor premise. 

III. Negative Premises. 



506 LOGICAL FORMS. 

A fish is not a quadruped No X is Y ; 

A bird is not a quadruped No Z is Y ; 

Therefore a fish is not a bird .... No X is Z. 

Here both premises being negative, the middle is not said to 
agree with either of the other terms. 

IY. Petitio Principii is a name given to those fallacies in 
which the premise appears manifestly to be the same as the con- 
clusion, or else is actually proved from the conclusion ; as, to at- 
tempt to prove the existence of God from the Bible, when the 
Bible, since it professes to be a revelation from him, assumes his 
existence ; or as when you prove the necessity of regeneration 
•from the depravity of man, and then prove the depravity of man 
from the necessity of regeneration. This is arguing in a cir- 
cle, and is sometimes called begging the question. In all cases 
of this kind there is an unduly assumed premise. 

Y. Ignoratio Elenchi, or irrelevant conclusion. This fal- 
lacy consists in substituting for the legitimate conclusion one 
that resembles it ; as, Cleon urged tine justice of putting certain 
revolters to death. Diodotus remarked, in reply, that this was 
nothing to the purpose, since the Athenians were not sitting in 
judgment, but in deliberation, of which the proper end is ex- 
pediency. 

EXAMPLES OF FALLACIES. 

§ 475. 1. Projectors are unfit to be trusted ; this man has 
formed a project ; therefore he is unfit to be trusted. This, 
coming under the head of an ambiguous middle, is what is call- 
ed Fallacia figurse Dictionis. It is built on the Grammatical 
structure of language, from men usually taking for granted that 
Paronymous words, i. e., those belonging to each other, as the 
substantive, adjective, verb, &c, of the same root, have a pre- 
cisely corresponding meaning, which is by no means universally 
the case. 

2. A sophist persuades the multitude that a member of the 
House of Commons is bound to be guided in all points by the 
opinion of his constituents, and, in short, to be merely their 
spokesman ; whereas law and custom, which may be regarded 
as fixing the meaning of the term, require no such thing, but 
enjoin the representative to act according to the best of his own 



ARGUMENT. 597 

judgment, and on his own responsibility. The fallacy of this 
opinion rests on the fact that the Etymological meaning of the 
word represent is not the same with its customary meaning. 

3. Three and two are two numbers ; five is three and two ; 
therefore five is two numbers. Here three and two are ambig- 
uous, signifying, in the major premise, " taken distinctly ;" in 
the minor, " taken together." 

4. Whatever is universally believed is true ; the existence of 
God is not universally believed ; therefore it is not true. Here 
the fallacy consists in an " illicit process of the major term." 

5. "What is bought in the market is eaten; raw meat is 
bought in the market ; therefore raw meat is eaten." Here we 
have the fallacia accidentis. The middle term is used in one 
premise (the major) to signify something considered simply in 
itself; in the other premise (the minor), to signify that its acci- 
dents are taken into account with. 

6. " To allow every man an unbounded freedom must always 
be, on the whole, advantageous to the state ; for it is highly 
conducive to the interests of the community that each individ- 
ual should enjoy a liberty, perfectly unlimited, of expressing Ins 
sentiments." Here we have the fallacy of the petitio principii. 
In the latter part of the sentence, the very point is assumed as 
proof which is asserted in the first part ; in other words, the pre- 
mise and the conclusion are identical. The English language 
is perhaps the more suitable for the .fallacy of the petitio prin- 
cipii, from its being framed from two distinct languages, and 
thus abounding in synonymous expressions which have no re- 
semblance in sound and no connection in etymology ; so that a 
sophist may bring forward a proposition expressed in words of 
Saxon origin, and give as a reason for it the very same proposi- 
tion stated in words of Norman origin, as in the above example. 

7. The Royal Society were imposed on by being asked to ac- 
count for the fact that a vessel of water received no addition to 
its weight by a live fish put into it. While they were seeking 
for the cause, they forgot to ascertain the fact, and thus admit- 
ted, without suspicion, a mere fiction. In this case the fallacy 
consists of an undue assumption of a premise. 



508 LOGICAL FORMS. 

QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER IV. 

1. What is an argument? 

2. What is the conclusion ? 

3. What are the premises? 

4. Give an example of an argument ; and state which are the two prem- 
ises, and which the conclusion. 

5. Are both premises always expressed % 

6. Of how many parts does an argument consist? and what are they? and 
what are they called ? 

7. In what order are they stated? and what conjunctions are employed in 
stating them ? 

8. What are arguments called which are stated without the third propo- 
sition ? 

9. How is the word argument employed in common discourse ? 

10. What is a syllogism? Give an example. 

11. How many terms has a syllogism? Name and describe them. 

12. How many propositions has a syllogism ? Name and describe them. 

13. Mention the canons and the rules. 

14. What is the mode of a syllogism? Fow many combinations are 
there ? and in how many can a syllogism be expressed ? 

15. What is the figure of a syllogism ? 

• 16. Describe the first figure, and give an illustration. 

17. Describe the second figure, and give an illustration. 

18. Describe the third figure, and give an illustration. 

19. What is an enthymeme ? Give an example. 

20. What is a rhetorical enthymeme ? Give an example. 

21. Describe a conditional syllogism. What two kinds of conditional syl- 
logisms are there ? Give examples of each. 

22. What is a sorites ? Give an example. 

23. What is a dilemma? 

24. Describe the three classes of dilemma, and give an example of each. 

25. What are analogical propositions ? and what is an argument from anal- 
ogy ? Give an instance. 

26. What is deduction ? Give an instance. 

27. What is induction? Give an instance. 

28. What is example ? Give an instance. 

29. What is a fallacy ? and what are several kinds of fallacies ? 

30. Give some account of the undistributed middle, with an example ; and 
of an illicit process, with an example ; and of negative premises, with an ex- 
ample ; and of a petitio principii, with an example ; and of an ignoratio, with 
an example. 

31. Give some promiscuous examples of fallacies. 



LOGICAL ANALYSIS. 509 



EXERCISES UNDER PART V. 

LOGICAL ANALYSIS. 

§ # 475. Logical Analysis is that process by which the Log- 
ical Forms in a passage are distinguished, named, and described. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. The art, the literature, and the eloquence of all times have 
united in paying a common homage to the Bible. 

The whole sentence is a proposition. 

The art, the literature, and the eloquence of all times is 

the SUBJECT. 

Have united in paying a common homage to the Bible is 

the PREDICATE. 

The subject and the predicate are the terms. 

2. Gold is a metal, often found pure in the shape of dust, is 
heavy, and is coined into eagles. 

Gold is a species ; metal is the genus ; often found pure in 
the- shape of dust is the differentia ; heavy is a property ; 
coined into eagles is an accident. These are predicables. 

3. "Whatever exhibits marks of contrivance and design is the 
work of an intelligent author. The world exhibits marks of con- 
trivance and design. Therefore the world is the work of an in- 
telligent author. 

Here we have three propositions. The first is the major 
premise. The second is the minor premise. The third is the 

CONCLUSION. 

The work of an intelligent author is the major term. 

The world is the minor term. 

Exhibits marks of contrivance and design is the middle 
term. 

The three propositions, taken together, are a syllogism. 

Analyze the following passage, and state which are proposi- 
tions ; which are the Logical subjects ; which are Logical pred- 
icates ; and mention any other Logical forms. 

This evil, of positively bad reasoning, of concluding what can 
not be justly concluded, arises from a want of due acquaintance 
with the instrument necessarily used in every process of reason- 



510 LOGICAL FORMS. 

ing, namely, language. And hence appears the importance of 
those two studies which teach us to analyze, logic and gram- 
mar. Language is indeed a wonderful instrument, but the very 
facility of using it with a certain degree of effect, for we all 
talk and occasionally argue, is apt to conceal from us the diffi- 
culty of acquiring a perfect command of it. We constantly find 
persons both speaking and writing vaguely : using words in dif- 
ferent senses, or in no well-defined sense at all, without being 
aware of it ; and, as never having analyzed the process of correct 
reasoning, arguing in a manner at random, and supposing that 
to be proof, or an answer to an objection, which in reality is not 
so. These are faults for which the study of grammar and of 
logic is the appropriate remedy. In both, we take language to 
pieces, examine its structure, and learn to appreciate and recog- 
nize those defects to which it is the most liable. In logic, es- 
pecially, we learn what may be called the skeleton of reasoning, 
that simple form, which, however concealed under the more or- 
namental form of our common style of talking or writing, as the 
skeleton is concealed by our flesh, can never be really departed 
from without involving a fallacy. Knowing this skeleton accu- 
rately, we can in an instant feel, even through the covering, the 
flesh, so to speak, of our ordinary language, whether all the 
bones are in their right places ; nay, we know where to suspect 
disorder, and, by passing our probe at once to the suspected part, 
we can see whether or no all is sound.— Arnold. 

s ynthe sis. 

1. Compose sentences in which there shall be various terms. 

2. Compose sentences in which there shall be various predi- 
cates. 

3. Compose a logical definition of some term. 

4. Compose sentences in which there shall be a universal af- 
firmative and a universal negative ; and a particular affirmative 
and a particular negative. 

5. Compose a simple proposition and a complex proposition. 

6. State a syllogism, and mention which is the major prem- 
ise ; and the minor ; and the conclusion ; and which is the ma- 
jor term, the minor term, and the middle term. 

7. Compose sentences containing other logical forms. 



PART VI. 

SYNTACTICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

DEFINITIONS. 

§ 476. Syntax, from the Greek ovv, with, rd^cg, arrange- 
ment, treats of the arrangement and combination of words in 
propositions and sentences. 

Etymology deals with the forms of single words, and teaches 
the office and power of the different parts of speech. Syntax 
deals with groups of words, and teaches how to combine the sev- 
eral parts of speech together in propositions and sentences. 

Syntactical forms are combinations of words viewed only in 
their relation to each other, according to the laws of the lan- 
guage. Thus " Of government" is a syntactical form, in which 
the preposition governs the noun. " A wise son" is a syntac- 
tical form, in which the article " a" and the adjective " wise" 
belong to the substantive " son." Syntactical forms are either 
sentences, or members, or clauses, or phrases, or any two words 
related to each other in the way of agreement and government. 

Concord is the agreement which one word has with another 
in Gender, Number, Case, or Person. 

Government is that power which one word has over another 
in directing its Mode, Tense, or Case. 

Convertibility. — In Syntax, one part of speech is often used 
for another, and may therefore be said to be convertible, as in 
this example, To err is human— error is human. The combi- 
nation to err is an Infinitive verb, and yet it is converted from 
its primary use into a noun. In like manner, the Participle is 
used as a substantive ; as, Erring is dangerous = error is dan- 
gerous. The Adjective is converted into a substantive ; as, The 
evils of life ; the goods of fortune. So an Adverb, a Preposi- 
tion, or a Conjunction can be used for a noun ; as, One long 
now —present time ; he said from, not to ; none of your ifs. 



512 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

In these examples, now, from, and if are used as Substantives. 
In like manner, a Preposition can be converted into an Adjective ; 
as, A through ticket. 

Grammatical Equivalents. — When one phrase or word can 
take the place of another phrase or word in a sentence without 
materially changing the meaning of the sentence, it is a Gram- 
matical equivalent of the other : To err is human= error is hu- 
man. The sign of equality used in mathematics ( = ) is the 
sign in grammar for Grammatical equivalents. See § 540. 

A Sentence is the expression of a thought in words. A de- 
clarative sentence is the same as a proposition. Sentences may 
consist either of one proposition, or of two or more propositions 
connected together. A sentence consisting of one proposition is 
called a Simple Sentence ; as, "I study my lesson." A sen- 
tence consisting of two or more propositions is called a 00771- 
pound Sentence ; as, " Industry procures a competence, and 
frugality preserves it." 

Sentences are Declarative ; as, "I am writing." Interrog- 
ative ; as, "Where am I?" Imperative; as, "Be quiet." 
Conditional; as, " If he should grieve." Exclamatory; as, 
" wretched man that I am !" For a more full account of sen- 
tences, see § 531. 

the relation of syntax to logic 

§ 477. So closely connected is Grammar with Logic, the for- 
mer having originally grown out of the latter, that a thorough 
knowledge of syntactical forms can not be acquired without a 
previous knowledge of certain logical forms and logical terms. 
Part Fifth of this work is, therefore, to be viewed as strictly sub- 
sidiary and preparatory to Part Sixth. To that part the student 
is referred especially for the Definition of such Names as Terms, 
Simple Terms, Complex Terms, Proposition, Complex Propo- 
sition, Compound Proposition. 

grammatical subject. 

§ 478. The Grammatical Subject is the same as the Logical 
Subject, when the latter is a si7iiple ter7)i or single word; as, 
" God is great." Here the Grammatical Subject of the verb is 
and the Logical Subject are the same, namely, God. 



DEFINITIONS. 5^^ 

When the Logical Subject is complex, consisting of a com- 
bination of words, the Grammatical Subject is the leading word 
in that combination. " Alexander, the son of Philip, was the 
conqueror of Darius." Here Alexander, the son of Philip, is 
the Logical Subject, being a complex term ; and Alexander, the 
leading word, is the Grammatical Subject. Alexander, who 
conquered Darius, was the son of Philip. Here Alexander, 
who conquered Darius, is the Logical Subject, and Alexander 
is the Grammatical Subject. The Grammatical Subject is ei- 
ther a Noun, or some word standing for a noun. The Logical 
Subject consists of the Grammatical Subject and its various 
modifications. 

GRAMMATICAL PREDICATE. 

§ 479. The Grammatical Predicate (Latin predicare, to as- 
sert) is the same as the Logical Predicate, when the Logical 
Predicate is contained in a common verb, or when the Logical 
Predicate is a simple term or single word; as, "He runs;" 
" he is an orator ;" " he is wise." Here the Grammatical pred- 
icates are the same as the Logical predicates. 

But when the Logical Predicate is a complex term, and made 
up of a combination of words, the Grammatical Predicate is 
the leading word in that combination; as, " The Scriptures are 
worthy of our confidence ." Here worthy of our confidence is 
the Logical Predicate, and worthy is the Grammatical Pred- 
icate. 

The Grammatical Predicate is contained in a common verb, 
which also contains the copula ; or else is a Noun or an Adjec- 
tive, or what stands for a noun or an adjective, with the Sub- 
stantive verb as a copula. A Logical Predicate is the Gram- 
matical Predicate with its modifications. See § 535. 

Of a subject we may predicate, 1. An action; as, " He loves" 
2. A quality; as, " Gold is heavy." 3. Identity ; as, " Iron is 
a mineral." In these three cases there is, in the first, a verb ; 
in the second, an adjective ; in the third, a substantive. 

FIGURES OF SYNTAX. 

§ 480. I. Ellipsis, Greek eXXeiipig, an omission, is the omis- 
sion of some word or words in a sentence necessary to a full and 

Kk 



514 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

regular construction ; as, " The heroic virtues I admire :" which 
is here omitted. " He (Marat) three times changed the title of 
his journal ; its spirit, never." Here he changed is omitted. 
" Better be hurried forward for a season on the wings of the 
tempest, than stagnate in a death-like calm, fatal alike to intel- 
lectual and moral progress." — Prescott. 

II. Zeugma, Greek ^evyfia, a joining, is a species of ellipsis 
by which an adjective or verb which is put in construction with 
a nearer word is, by way of supplement, referred to one more 
remote ; as, " They wear a garment like that of the Scythians, 
but a language peculiar to themselves." 

III. Pleonasm, Greek TrXeovaa^og, fullness, is a redundancy 
of words : " Never did Atticus succeed better in gaining the uni- 
versal esteem and love of all men? Here universal is redund- 
ant, or the and of all men are redundant. 

IV. Enallage, Greek evaXXayrj, change, is the use of one 
gender, number, case, person, tense, mode, or voice for another ; 
as, " He begun to write," for " he began to write." 

Y. Hyperbaton, Greek vnepdarov, transgression, is the trans- 
position of words out of their natural and grammatical order ; 
as, " All price beyond," instead of " beyond all price." 

YI. Hypallage, Greek vnaXXayrj, change, is an interchange 
of construction ; as, "His coward lips did from their color fly? 
instead of "the color did fly from his coward lips? 

VII. Anastrophe, Greek dvao-pofyr}, inversion, is a species of 
Hyperbaton, by which we place last, and perhaps at a great dis- 
tance, what, according to the common order, should have been 
placed first. The beginning of Paradise Lost is an example of 
that figure : 

" Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit 
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
Brought death into the world and all our woe, 
With loss of Eden, till one greater man 
Restore us and regain the blissful seat, 
Sing, heavenly Muse !" 

The natural order of the words in this passage is, Heavenly 
Muse, sing of man's first disobedience, etc. 

VIII. Hysteron Proteron, Greek varepov, latter, Trporepov, 
former, is a species of Hyperbaton, by which that which is first 



DEFINITIONS. 515 

done is last mentioned ; as, "He was bred and born in Bos- 
ton;" "Our father is in good health; he is yet alive" 



QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER I. 

1. What is syntax as distinguished from etymology? 

2. What are syntactical forms ? 

3. What is concord? What is government? 

4. What is convertibility ? Give illustrations. 

5. What is a grammatical equivalent? 

6. What is a sentence, and what kinds of sentences are there ? Give illus- 
trations. 

7. What is ellipsis ? with illustrations ; and zeugma ? with illustrations ; 
pleonasm ? with illustrations ; enalloge ? with illustrations ; hyperbaton? with 
illustrations ; hypallage ? with illustrations ; anastrophe ? with illustrations ; 
hysteron proteron ? with illustrations. 

8. Can a thorough knowledge of syntactical forms be obtained with a pre- 
vious knowledge of certain logical forms ? Why not ? 

9. State the difference between a logical subject and a grammatical subject, 
and illustrate each. 

10. State the difference between the logical predicate and the grammatical 
predicate, and illustrate each. 



EXERCISES UNDER CHAPTER I. 

Name the following sentences, according to § 476 : 

" He loves his country." " Life is short, and art is long." 
"He spoke with energy." "Will he visit Palestine?" "Be 
faithful unto death." " If he should arrive in time." " What 
converse passed between us two in all those shadowy solitudes !" 

Point out first the Propositions, next the Logical Subject and 
Predicate, and then the Grammatical Subject and Predicate in 
each of the following sentences : 

1. The Christian ministry is the worst of all trades, but the 
best of all professions. 

Model a. Here are two propositions. The Christian minis- 
try is the Logical Subject of each proposition, expressed or un- 
derstood. The worst of all trades is the Logical Predicate of 
the first, and the best of all professions is the Logical Predi- 
cate of the second. The Grammatical Subject of the two prop- 



516 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

ositions is the ministry ; and the Grammatical Predicate of the 
first is the ivorst, and of the second is the best. 

2. Good-nature, like a bee, collects honey from every herb. 
Ill-nature, like a spider, sucks poison from the sweetest flower. 

Model b. Here Good-nature, like a bee, is the Logical Sub- 
ject of the first proposition, and collects honey from every herb 
is the Logical Predicate ; it being understood that the verb col- 
lect is equivalent to is collecting, is being the copula. The 
Logical Subject of the second proposition is Ill-nature, like the 
spider, and the Logical Predicate is collects = is. collecting- 
poison from the sweetest flowers. The Grammatical Subject 
of the first is Good-nature, and the Grammatical Predicate is 
collects. The Grammatical Subject of the second is Ill-nature, 
and the Grammatical Predicate is sucks. The copula is not re- 
garded in Syntax. 

3. The intellect of the wise is like glass ; it admits the light 
of heaven, and reflects it. 

4. A speech being a matter of adaptation, and having to win 
opinions, should contain a little for the few, and a great deal for 
the many. 

5. The virtue of paganism was strength ; the virtue of Chris- 
tianity is obedience. 

Give names and definitions of the following Figures in Syntax : 

1. Who stabs my name would stab my person too, 
Did not the hangman's axe lie in his way. 

2. His genteel and agreeable manners have made him a uni- 
versal favorite of every body. 

3. The hollow sound 
Sung in the leaves, the forest shook around, 

Air blackened, rolled the thunder, groaned the ground. 

4.' When first thy sire, to send on earth 

Virtue, his darling child, designed. 

5. In descending the hill, he gave the reins to his horse and 
his fury. 

6. Last Whitsuntide he was well and alive. 

7. The skipping king — he ambled up and down. 

8. Not in the legions 
Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned 
In ills to top Macbeth. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 517 



CHAPTER II. 

SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 



NOMINATIVE CASE. 

§ 481. Rule I. — A Noun used either as the Subject or the 
Predicate of a finite verb is in the Nominative Case ; as, "Man 
reasons ;" " he is the architect of his own character." Here 
man is the Subject of the verb reasons, and is in the nominative 
case ; and architect is the Predicate of the verb is, and is in the 
nominative case. 

The leading rules under the noun apply also to Pronouns., 
What is peculiar to the Pronoun is given under the rules for the 
Pronoun. The words Subject and Predicate, without a qualify- 
ing epithet, are, in Syntax, used in the Grammatical sense., 
though the Logical sense is the primary one. 

Note I. — A Noun with a Participle, used Independently of the 
Grammatical construction into which it logically enters, is in 
the nominative case ; as, "He being dead, we shall live ;" " the 
king having arrived, the soldiers were drawn up in battle ar- 
ray." This is called the nominative absolute, because the case 
depends on no other word. Its logical meaning is as evident as 
if the syntactical construction were such that the case be made 
to depend on some other word. 

a. Originally, in the Anglo-Saxon, nouns thus standing Inde- 
pendently or absolutely were in the dative ; as, Up a sprun- 
genre sunnan = the sun having arisen. Him, also, in the An- 
glo-Saxon, was in the dative. This would seem to justify the 
phraseology in Milton, " And him destroyed, or won to what 
may work his utter loss." In other cases, Milton conformed to 
the rule just given; as, "Whose gray top shall tremble, he de- 
scending." 

b. A noun and a participle thus used in the nominative abso- 
lute form is an abridged sentence, and may be introduced into 
the general construction by the proper conjunction or adverb; 
as, " The two armies being thus employed, Cselius began to 



518 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

publish several violent and odious laws." The nominative ab- 
solute in this sentence can be resolved into the following Gram- 
matical equivalent: "Wliile the two armies were thus em- 
ployed, Cselius began to publish several violent and odious 
laws." 

Note II. — A Noun used in Direct Address is in the nomina- 
tive case ; as, " Judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts !" 
" John, come hither." This last example is equivalent to the 
vocative case in the Latin language. 

Note III. — A Nominative without its intended Yerb sometimes 
occurs in a certain abrupt mode of writing ; as, " These men — 
how I detest them !" The first words, being the subject of dis- 
course, when uttered, awaken such strong feeling in the mind of 
the speaker, that he quits the trammels of a formal arrange- 
ment, and leaves the nominative without a verb. This mode of 
writing was formerly more common than it is now, as in the 
following stanza : 

" They routed, drank, and merry made, 
Till all his gold it waxed thin, 
And then his friends they slunk away, 
And left the unthrifty heir of Linne." 

In expressions like the following there is a Pleonasm : " Your 
fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for- 
ever ?" " Bad men they often honor virtue at the bottom of 
their heart." Superfluous nominatives should be avoided in 
common language. 

Expressions like the following are not to be encouraged, though 
there are authorities in their favor: "It is really curious, the 
course which balls will sometimes take." 

Note IY. — A Noun in the nominative without a verb is some- 
times found in Exclamatory sentences : " But, oh their end, 
their dreadful end /" 

"A steed! a steed of matchless speed, 
A sivord of metal keene ! 
All else to noble hearts is drosse, 

All else on earth is meane." — Motherwell. 

Here the mind, for the moment, is so absorbed in the object 
that it simply utters the term, without making an assertion re- 
specting it. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 519 

Note V. — Nouns used as Titles of Books, and Names of Places 
and of Persons, are very often in the nominative without a verb ; 
as, "Chambers's Cyclopaedia ;" "the Astor House." These 
expressions are elliptical. 

Note VI. — In Poetry, a Noun in the nominative without a verb 
may sometimes be found, chiefly in those cases where the omit- 
ted verb would express an Address or Answer ; as, 

" To whom thus Michael : Judge not what is best 
By pleasure, though to nature seeming meet, 
Created as thou art to nobler end." — Milton. 

Note VII. — A Noun in the nominative case without a verb is 
very frequently found in the Answer to a Question ; as, "Who 
invented the electro-magnetic telegraph ?" " Morse" (invented 
it.) Here the ellipsis is supplied. " Who first drew lightning 
from the clouds ?" "Franklin? 

COLLOCATION. 

§ 482. The Subject-nominative generally precedes, the Pred- 
icate-nominative generally follows the verb, as above. To this 
rule there are exceptions : 

1. In Interrogative, Exclamatory, and Imperative sentences, 
the Subject-nominative follows the verb ; as, " How many ap- 
ples have (Sub.) you ?" " What (Pred.) beautiful apples those 
are !" " Give (Sub.) thou those apples." 

2. When the subjunctive mode suppresses the conjunction if 
or though, the Subject-nominative follows the verb ; as, " Were 
(Sub.) it true, I should rejoice." 

3. When neither or nor is used for and 7zo£, the Subject-nom- 
inative follows the verb ; as, " The eye that saw him shall see 
him no more, neither shall his (Sub.) place any more behold 
him." " This was his fear, nor was his (Sub.) apprehension 
groundless." 

4. When a Neuter or a Passive verb is preceded by a prepo- 
sition and its case, or by the adverbs here, hence, these, thence, 
now, then, hereafter, thus, the Subject-nominative follows the 
verb ; as, " Here was the (Sub.) tomb," etc. 

5. After such verbs as to say, to think, the Subject-nomina- 
tive follows the verb ; as, " ' Trim,' said my (Sub.) uncle Toby? 

6. When the sentence begins with an emphatic adjective, the 



520 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Subject-nominative follows the verb; as, "Wonderful are thy 
(Sub.) worksP 

7. When the adverb there precedes the verb, the Subject-nom- 
inative follows the verb ; as, " There was neither (Sub.) knocker 
nor (Sub.) bell-handle at the door where Oliver and his master 
stopped." 



EXERCISES IN SYNTAX. 

1. In these exercises a part of the examples have the letters 
C. S. affixed to them, to indicate Correct Syntax. This class 
of examples are intended to illustrate the corresponding rule or 
note, and impress it on the memory of the learner. The Teach- 
er, after the example has been read, is expected to ask the Pupil 
to state the rule or note, and also its particular application to 
the example. Thus the rule is made to explain the syntax of the 
example, and the example to illustrate the meaning of the rule. 

2. A part of the examples have the letters F. S. affixed to 
them, to indicate False Syntax. Examples of this class the 
learner is expected to correct, and to give the rule or note for 
the correction, as before. 

3. A part of the examples have the sign of equality ( = ) af- 
fixed to them, to indicate Grammatical Equivalents, which the 
pupil is expected to give. The practice of finding grammat- 
ical equivalents, if persevered in, will be of great value in 
giving the pupil command of language. See § 540. 

4. It is also earnestly urged upon the Teacher that he should 
require the Pupils to select examples from other books under 
each rule and note. This will both test and increase their 
knowledge of the rule or note in its practical application. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE I. 

NOMINATIVE CASE. 

Rule L — a. God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb. C. S. 
(In this example, God is the Subject of the verb tempers, and is 
in the nominative case.) 

b. Truth is the daughter of Time. C. S. Here daughter is 
the Predicate of the verb is, and is in the nominative case. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 521 

c. Penn, despairing of relief in Europe, bent the whole energy 
of his mind to accomplish the establishment of a free government 
in the New "World. — Bancroft. C. S. 

d. Brutus was, from his youth up, a student of philosophy, 
and well versed in the systems of the Greeks. C. S. 

e. Them are the books imported for the Astor Library. F. S. 

f. The nations not so bless'd as thee 

Must, in their turn, to tyrants fall ; 
While thou shalt flourish great and free, 

The dread and envy of them all. — Thomson. F. S. 

Note I. — a. At length, the Russians being masters of the field 
of battle, our troops retired, the uproar ceased, and a mournful 
silence ensued. C. S. 

b. Shame being lost, all virtue is lost. C. S. 

c. The atmosphere's being clear, and my sight good, I beheld 
the ship in the far distance approaching. F. S. 

d. Him being on deck, we gave three cheers to the good ship. 
F. S. 

e. There being many other passages relative to the subject, 
he refuses to make a premature decision. = 

/. Can the Muse, 

Her feeble wing all damp with earthly dew, 
Soar to that bright empyreal ? = 

Note II. — a. O Faithful Love, by poverty embraced ! 
Thy heart is fire, amid a wintry waste ; 
Thy joys are roses, born on Hecla's brow ; 
Thy home is Eden, warm amid the snow. — Elliott. C. S 

b. full of all subtlety and mischief, thee child of the devil 
F. S. 

Note III.— a. My friends, do they now and then send a wish 
or a thought after me ? — Cowper. C. S. 

b. And the souls of thine enemies ; them shall he sling as out 
of the middle of a sling. C. S. 

Note IV. — A sail ! a sail ! How speaks the telescope ? C. S. 

Note V.-— The Royal Exchange. The Duke of "Wellington- 
C. S. 

Note VI. Thus Satan ; and him thus the Anarch old, 

"With faltering speech, and visage incomposed, 
Answered. — Milton. C. S. 



522 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note VII. — a. Who invented the safety-lamp ? Sir Hum- 
phrey Davy. 

b. Who discovered America ? Columbus. 

Here let the pupils bring forward examples which they have 
selected to illustrate the rule and notes. 



POSSESSIVE OR GENITIVE CASE. 

§ 483. Rule II. — A Noun used to limit another noun by de- 
noting Possession or Origin is put in the Possessive Case ; as, 
" Washington's prudence saved his country." " Solomon's 
Temple was for generations the glory of Palestine." 

In the last example, Temple denotes any temple ; Solomon's 
limits it to the particular one which Solomon built. So in the 
first example, the noun prudence is limited by the noun Wash- 
ington's. 

Note I. — The limited Substantive is frequently omitted, that 
is, under stood , when no mistake can arise ; as, " Let us go to 
St. Paul's," that is, church. " Nor think a lover's are but fan- 
cied woes ;" that is, a lover's woes. In these cases there is an 
ellipsis of the governing word. See figures of Syntax. In Lat- 
in, ad Dianas — ad cedem Diance. 

Note II. — When the thing possessed is the common property 
of two or more possessors, the sign of the possessive is suffixed 
only to the last noun ; as, " John, Thomas, and James's house ;" 
that is, a house of which the joint ownership is vested in these 
three persons. 

Note III. — But when the thing possessed is the individual 
and separate property of two or more possessors, the sign of the 
possessive is suffixed to each noun ; as, " He has the surgeon's 
and the physician's opinion ;" that is, he has the opinion of the 
surgeon, and the opinion of the physician, and these opinions 
may differ the one from the other. 

" For thou art Freedom's now, and Fame's ; 
One of the few, the immortal names 

That were not born to die." — Halleck. 

Note IV. — The possessive case may sometimes be resolved 
into the Objective with the preposition of; as, " Napoleon's 
army" may be changed into " the army of Napoleon." This 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 533 

is an instance of Grammatical equivalents. Napoleon's army 
= the army of Napoleon. 

But though the Saxon or English Genitive is often converti- 
ble into what has "been called the Norman or the Analytic Gen- 
itive, yet in some cases it can not be. Thus, " the Lord's day" 
is the Christian Sabbath ; " the day of the Lord" is the day of 
Judgment. "When the general relation of simple possession is 
intended, either may be used. But when the one substantive 
denotes merely the substance or matter, or some quality or thing 
characteristic of the other, the Norman form is used; as, "A 
crown of gold ;" " a man of wisdom." These are not converti- 
ble into the English Genitive. " Cloth of wool" can not be con- 
verted into "wool's cloth;" nor "a cup of water" into "loa- 
fer's cup;" nor the "idea of an angel" into " an angel's idea" 

Note V. — "When the thing possessed is only one of a number 
belonging to the possessor, both the possessive case and of are 
used; as, " A friend of his brother's" implying that his broth- 
er has more friends than one ; "the picture of my friend's" sig- 
nifying that it is one of several belonging to him. For these 
we have the Grammatical equivalents : " one of his brother's 
friends ;" " this is on\ of his friend's pictures." " This picture 
of my friend" suggests a different meaning, namely, a likeness 
of my friend. The form indicated by this rule has been called 
the double possessive. 

Note YI. — A Noun depending upon a Participle used as a 
noun, is put in the possessive case ; as, " He was averse to the 
nation's involving itself in war ;" " the time of "William's mak- 
ing the experiment at length arrived." Here involving in the 
one case, and making in the other, are used as nouns, and are 
governed by the prepositions to and of. . 

Note VII. — Sometimes two or three words in a state of Gov- 
ernment may be dealt with as a single word in the possessive ; 
as, " The King of Saxony's army." In this expression three 
things are evident : 1. That the army is spoken of as belonging 
not to the country Saxony, but to the King of that country. 
2. That the sign of the possessive naturally comes after the word 
King ; as, " The King's army." 3. That, as the expression 
stands, the army appears to be spoken of as belonging to Sax- 
ony. Yet this is not the fact. The truth is, that the whole ex- 



524 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

pression is dealt with as a single word. So we say " Little 
and Brown's book-seller's shop." 

Note VIII. — The possessive case, like the adjective, belongs 
to the Attributive combination, and is often a Grammatical 
equivalent to the adjective. The King's cause = the Royal 
cause. C cesar's party = the C cesarean party. So closely con- 
nected in force is the possessive case with the adjective, that 
some grammarians call it an adjective. 

Note IX. — Ambiguous expressions like the following should 
be avoided, when it can be done. Thus, the love of God may 
mean, objectively, " our love to him ;" or, subjectively, " his 
love to us." The injuries of the Helvetii=:the injuries done by 
them, subjectively, or = the injuries done to them, objectively. 
" The reformation of Luther" denotes either the change on oth- 
ers, the object, or the change on himself, the subject. \ l The 
reformation by Luther, or in Luther," removes the ambiguity. 
The connection will sometimes explain the meaning of such ex- 
pressions. 

Note X. — The frequent recurrence either of the Analytic pos- 
sessive or of the Inflective possessive should be avoided. See 
Exercises. 

Note XL — When the first noun ends in s, the 5 is often an- 
nexed to the apostrophe in prose, but frequently omitted in po- 
etry; as, "James's book;" "Miss's shoes;" "Achilles' wrath to 
Greece the direful spring." 

Note XII. — The s after the apostrophe is omitted when the 
first noun has the sound of s in each of the last two syllables, 
and the second noun begins with that of s ; as, For righteous- 
ness' sake ; for conscience' sake. "When the second noun does 
not begin with s, the practice is various; as, "But we are Mo- 
ses' disciples," John, ix., 28. "Again, such is his (Falstaff's) 
deliberate exaggeration of his own vices, that it does not seem 
quite certain whether the account of his hostess's bill found in 
his pocket, with such an out-of-the-way charge for capons and 
sack, with only a halfpenny worth of bread, was not put there 
by himself as a trick to humor the jest upon his favorite propen- 
sities, and as a conscious caricature upon himself." — Hazlitt's 
Lectures. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 525 



COLLOCATION. 

§ 484. In the present English, the Genitive or Possessive case 
always precedes the noun which it limits ; as, The man's hat= 
hominis pileus ; never the hat man's —pileus hominis. 

ATTRIBUTIVE RELATION OF THE GENITIVE CASE. 

§ 485. A substantive in the possessive case, or under the gov- 
ernment of the preposition of is said, when it is in the genitive 
relation, to he joined to a substantive attributively. The differ- 
ent kinds of attributive genitive relations are, 

1. The relation of the active subject or agent to an action or 
effect : " The course of the sun;" " Solomon's temple" = the tem- 
ple built by Solomon ; " the march of an army." 

2. The relation of possessor to the thing possessed: "The 
king's crown ;" " the boy's hat ;" " the garden of the poet." 

3. The mutual relation of one person to another: "The boy's 
Father ;" " a man's Friend." 

4. The relation of a whole to its parts : " The top of a tree;" 
" the wheels of a carriage." This relation is also called that 
of the partitive genitive. 

5. The relation of a quality to a person or thing: "A ring 
of gold;" "a man of honor." The genitive formed by inflec- 
tion, or the Saxon Genitive, is generally used to express the re- 
lation of the possessor, and sometimes to express the relation of 
the agent to an action and the mutual relation of persons. The 
analytic genitive, or the Norman Genitive, as it is sometimes 
called, is almost always used to express the relation of quality. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE II. 
THE POSSESSIVE CASE. 

Rule II. — a. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. C. S. 

b. Thy forest, Windsor, and thy green retreats, 
At once the monarch's and the Muse's seats, 
Invite my lays. — Pope. C. S. 

c. A letter on his father's table, the next morning, announced 
that he had accepted a commission in a regiment about to em- 
bark for Portugal. — Charles Lamb. C. S. 

d. Gray hairs are death's blossoms. C. S. 



526 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

e. A mother tenderness and a father's care are nature's gifts 
for man advantage. F. S. 

f. Whose works are these ? They are Cicero's, the most el- 
oquent of men. C. S. 

Note I. — Will you go to the president's this evening ? C. S. 

Note II. — a. The captain, mate, and seamen's exertions 
brought the ship, under Providence, safely to port. C. S. 

b. Peter's, John's, and Andrew's occupation was that of fish- 
ermen. F. S. 

Note III. — a. He has obtained the governor's and the secre- 
tary's signature to that document. C. S. 

b. This measure gained the king as well as the people's ap- 
probation. F. S. 

Note IV.' — a. England's glory he promoted. = 

b. He labored to promote the welfare of the world. = 

Note Y. — a. This is a discovery of Sir Isaac Newton's. C. S. 

b. This is a picture of Raphael's. C. S. 

Note YI. — a. Such will ever be the effect of youth's associa- 
ting with vicious companions. C. S. 

b. This coolness was occasioned by the queen intercepting 
certain letters. F. S. 

Note VII. — a. The anniversary of King William and Queen 
Mary's accession to the throne approached. C. S. 

b. The Bishop's of London charge gave great offense. F. S. 

Note VIII. — He fought and died in defense of America's lib- 
erty = Give the equivalent. 

Note IX. — a. He was influenced by the love of Christ. =2= 
and= Grive the two equivalents. 

b. He was stimulated to take arms by the injuries of England. 
= and= 

Note X. — a. The extent of the prerogative of the King of En- 
gland is sufficiently ascertained. F. S. 

b. That is my father's brother's daughter's house. F. S. 

Note XL — a. Burns's poetry is the offspring of genius. C. S. 

b. St. Agnes' eve — ah, bitter cold it was ! 

The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold. — Keats. C. S. 

Note XII. — a. I was here introduced to Justus' son, a very 
pleasing young man. C. S. 

b. If ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 527 

THE OBJECTIVE OR ACCUSATIVE CASE. 

§ 486. Rule III. — A noun depending on a Transitive verb is 
in the Objective Case ; as, " (rod rules the world which he 
created." The objective case is complementary to a Transitive 
verb, and is necessary to complete the sense. 

Note I. — A noun in the objective case follows an Intransitive 
verb when the two are kindred in Signification ; as, " To live a 
life of virtue ;" " to die the death of the righteous." 

On the same principle, some transitive verbs take a second ob- 
jective ; as, " He struck him a severe blow" 

Under this rule may be ranged certain idioms, namely, that 
of using after verbs transitive or intransitive certain nouns 
which are not the objects of the verb nor of the same significa- 
tion, but which are the names of the result of the verb's action, 
or closely connected with it ; as, " And on their hinges grate 
harsh thunder P— -Milton. " The crisped brook ran nectar ;" 
"grin horribly a ghastly smile;" "let them go their way;" 
"they turn their eyes this way and that way;" "to look the 
subject in the face." 

Note II. — Two nouns, the one denoting a Person and the other 
a Thing, each in the objective case, follow certain verbs, name- 
ly, verbs signifying to allow, ask, deny, envy, fine, give, offer, 
pay, cost, promise, send, teach, tell, and some others; as, "He 
taught them logic;" " a ring cost the purchaser an eagle;" "I 
gave him the book ;" "he offered them his advice." Wliom, 
them, and him are remains of the dative case in the Anglo-Sax- 
on. In strictness, the word give, and a few others, govern the 
Dative case with the Accusative, without the preposition. In 
the expressions " give it to him," " to whom shall I give it ?" no 
prepositional aid is necessary. 

Will it be said that the phrase " ask him his opinion" is ellip- 
tical for " ask of him his opinion ?" This will hardly satisfy a 
grammarian. According to the true idea of a transitive verb, 
him must be the object in the phrase under consideration as 
much as in this, "Ask him for a guinea ;" or in this, " Ask him 
to go." In other languages, some transitive verbs, in like man- 
ner, govern two accusatives. 

In the following we have a variety of the same construction : 



528 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

" Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay- 
To mould me manV — Milton, x., 744. See § 511. 

Note III. — Nouns in the objective case follow certain verbs in 
the Passive voice, namely, the verbs mentioned in the preceding 
note as governing two objectives in the active voice ; as, " I was 
offered a lucrative situation;" "I was promised a ship in five 
days ;" " I was allowed great liberty." 

Note IV. — A noun depending on a Preposition is in the ob- 
jective case ; as, " La Fayette in his youth came to America." 

Note V. — Nouns denoting Duration of time, or Extent of 
space, or Amount of weight or number, often stand without a 
governing word in the objective case ; as, " Jacob said, I will 
serve thee seven years for Rachel ;" " a kingdom five hund- 
red miles square ;" " a guinea weighs five pennyweights six 
grains;" " water ten feet deep;" "an army forty thousand 
strong ;" " you have asked me news a hundred times." — Pope. 
In these instances, the words denoting time, and space, and 
number, though not preceded by a transitive verb or a preposi- 
tion, naturally belong to the objective combination, and may be 
parsed in the objective case, just as similar words in the ancient 
G-othic languages and in the Classical were put in the accusa- 
tive, as shown by the case-ending. 

Note VI.— The adjective "Worth not only follows the noun 
which it qualifies, but is followed by a noun denoting price ; as, 
" The book is worth a dollar ;" " the land is worth the price 
paid." 

Note VII. — The objective case follows the adjectives like, 
nigh, near, next. See § 490. 

COLLOCATION. 

§ 487. In English, the objective case follows the verb or prep- 
osition upon which it depends. See Exceptions in § 512 and 
§633. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE III. 
THE OBJECTIVE CASE. 

Rule III. — a. They whom luxury has made proud, and whom 
luxury has corrupted, can not relish the simple pleasures of na- 
ture. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 529 

b. Love rules his kingdom without a sword. C. S. 

c Can storied urn or animated bust 

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ? 
Can Honor's voice provoke the sleeping dust, 

Or Flattery soothe the dull, cold ear of death 1 — Gray. C. S. 

d. Had the life of Hampden been spared, he could not have 
changed the course of events, for he could not have changed the 
laws of nature, and the principles of human nature." — Ban- 
croft. C. S. 

e. They who he had most injured he had the greatest reason 
to love. F. S. 

/. He invited my brother and I to see and examine his libra- 
ry. F.S. 

Note I. — Let us run with patience the race set before us. C. S. 

Note II.— a. I shall ask him the question when I next see 
him. C. S. 

b. By a long course of study and discipline he made himself 
what he was. C. S. 

c. Success in that battle made him a soldier. C. S. 

Note III. — a. He was taught the rudiments of grammar at 
the Free Academy, New York. C. S. 

b. She would not accept the jewels, though she was offered 
them. F. S. 

Note IV. — a. In his distress, he, for the first time, called upon 
God. C. S. 

b. Algebra is computation by letters which stand for num- 
bers. C. S. 

Note V. — a. In order to be here punctually, he traveled forty 
miles yesterday. C. S. 

b. He has been waiting here impatiently seven days. C. S. 

c. A mass of gold found in California weighs five pounds. C. S. 
Note VI. — The watch which I offer you is worth fifty dollars. 

C. S. 

Note VII. — The star of military glory, rising like a meteor, 
like a meteor has set. — D.Webster. C. S. 



apposition. 
§ 488. Rule IV. — A noun placed after another noun to ex- 
plain it, is by Apposition put in the same case ; as, " Hope, the 

Ll 



530 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

star of life, never sets ;" " this sentiment is Lord Bacon's, the 
great precursor of Locke and Newton;" "this was the remark 
of Dr. Edwards, him who was afterward President of Union Col- 
lege." 

Note I. — The words in apposition explain each other. If we 
say simply the apostle, we do not sufficiently explain ourselves, 
since we may mean Peter or John. If we say simply Paul, we 
do not sufficiently explain ourselves, since we may mean Pan] 
the Czar of Russia, or any one whose name is Paul. But if we 
say Paul the apostle, we explain what Paul and what apostle 
is meant. Words which thus explain each other, and are in the 
same case, may he said to he placed side hy side, or to he in ap- 
position, according to the meaning of the Latin word apposiiio. 
In cases of apposition, there seems to he an ellipsis of who is, 
ivho was, and the like. The second noun is used attributively, 
like an adjective. The leading noun, which usually comes first 
in the sentence, is parsed as in the nominative, possessive, or 
objective case, and the following noun as in apposition with 
that. 

When a word is repeated for the sake of emphasis, it may he 
said to he in apposition ; as, " Cisterns, broken cisterns that 
can hold no water." This is, however, a rhetorical form. See 
'$ 576. 

Note II. — Nouns are sometimes set in apposition to whatever 
stands in# the place of a noun, whether a pronoun and adjec- 
tive, or a part of a sentence, or a sentence ; as, " You write very 
carelessly, a habit you must correct." Here you write very 
carelessly =you have the habit of writing carelessly. "You 
are too humane and considerate, things few people can he 
charged with." — Pope. Here the words humane and consider- 
ate suggest to the mind the same thought which humanity and 
consideration would, and accordingly the word things is put in 
apposition with them. In the following sentence, a noun in the 
plural stands in apposition to two nouns in the singular, joined 
by a disjunctive conjunction : " The terms of our law will hard- 
ly find words that answer to them in the Spanish or Italian, 
no scanty languages ;" " his reputation as a soldier reflects 
glory on his country." Here the noun soldier is in apposition 
with the pronoun his in the possessive case. 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 531 

" True wit is like the precious stone 
Dug from the Indian mine, 
Which boasts two various powers in one, 
To cut as well as shine." — Swift. 

Here " to cut" and " to shine" are in apposition with " two va- 
rious powers." 

Note III. — The whole and its parts, or a part, are often 
found in the same case by apposition ; as, " The whole army 
fled, some one way and some another." " They love each oth- 
er." Here each is in the nominative case in apposition with 
they, and other is in the objective case. " They helped one an- 
other." Here one is in apposition with they, and another is in 
the objective case. 

Note IV. — Two or more substantives in apposition, forming 
one complex name, or a name and title, have a plural termina- 
tion, and the sign of the possessive annexed to the last of the 
words; as, "The Miss Smiths;" "the two Mr. Thompsons ;" 
" his brother John's wife ;" " John the Baptist's head ;" " Ben- 
jamin Franklin's life." Instead of the " Miss Smiths" some 
prefer to annex the sign of the plural to the first word, the 
" Misses Smith." In some cases we have the sign annexed to 
both, namely, the " Misses Smiths." 

Note V. — When the explanatory term in apposition is com- 
plex or long, or when there are more explanatory terms than 
one, the sign of the possessive is affixed to the first noun ; as, 
" I called at Putnam's, the well-known publisher and book- 
seller." 

When a short explanatory term is subjoined to the name, it 
matters little to which the sign is applied. Usage is divided. 
Thus we may say, " I left the parcel at Putnam the Booksell- 
er's," or " at Putnam's the Bookseller." Analogy with those 
languages in which case-endings abound would lead us to say, 
"Putnam's the Bookseller's." 

Note VI. — Personal pronouns are sometimes used in apposi- 
tion for the purpose of identifying the person of a noun ; as, 
u We, the people of the United States, do ordain and establish 
this Constitution for the United States of America." 

Note VII.' — A proper name is often placed after a common 
name in apposition ; as, The River Danube. 



532 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

A common is often placed after a proper name in apposition ; 
as, The Mississippi River. 

In some cases the preposition intervenes ; as, The city of New 
York. 

Note YIIL— Two nouns may come together, though not in ap- 
position, and though neither of them is in the genitive case ; 
as, A sun beam; a sea nymph. These are, in fact, compound 
terms, and a hyphen should be employed to connect the parts 
if the substantive does not perform the office of an adjective. 
Whether the hyphen should be used or not must depend on the 
accent. Thus we must say Glass-house if we speak of a 
house for the manufacture of glass, but we say Glass house if 
we speak of a house made of glass. For the use of the hyphen, 
see § 694. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE IV. 
APPOSITION. 

Rule IY. — a. The lines are from Cicero, the orator and states- 
man. C. S. 

h. Virtue sole survives, 

Immortal, never-failing friend to man, 
His guide to happiness on high. C. S. 

c. They literally fulfilled the spirit of their national motto, E 
pluribus unum; at home many, abroad one. C. S. 

Note I. — a. So short, too, is our life here, a mortal life at best, 
and so endless is the life on which we enter at death, an immor- 
tal life, that the consideration may well moderate our sorrow at 
parting. — Herman Hooker. C. S. 

b. That very law that moulds a tear, 

And bids it trickle from its source, 
That law preserves the earth a sphere, 
And guides the planets in their course. — Rogers. C. S. 

c. Forever honored be this, the place of our fathers' refuge. — 
D.Webster. C. S. 

Note II. — a. The Dutch were formerly in possession of the 
coasting trade and freight of almost all other leading nations ; 
they were also the bankers for all Europe ; advantages by which 
they gained immense sums. C. S. 

b. The mild dignity of Carver and of Bradford ; the decision 



SYNTAX OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 533 

and soldier-like air and manner of Standish ; the devout Brew- 
ster, the enterprising Allerton, the general firmness and thought- 
fulness of the whole hand ; their conscious joy for dangers es- 
caped ; their high religious faith, full of confidence and antici- 
pation — all of these seem to belong to this place, and to be pres- 
ent on this occasion, to fill us with reverence and admiration. — ■ 
D.Webster. C. S« 

c. To be resign'd when ills betide, 

Patient when favors are denied, 

And pleased with favors given ; 
Dear Chloe, this is wisdom's part, 
This is that incense of the heart, 
Whose fragrance smells to heaven. 

Dr. Cotton. C. S. 

Note III. — a. The court condemned the criminals, a part of 
them to suffer death, and a part to transportation. C. S. 

b. Two thousand auditors listened, all with admiration, many 
with enthusiasm, to the eloquent exposition of doctrines intelli- 
gible only to the few. — Sir "William Hamilton. C. S. 

Note IV. — William the Conqueror's victory at the battle of 
Hastings decided the fate of England. C. S. 

Note Y. — Information was lodged at the mayor's office, the 
well-known and energetic magistrate. C. S. 

Note YI. — I, Victoria, Queen of England, make my procla- 
mation. C. S. 

Note VII. — a. The mountain, Vesuvius, poured forth a torrent 
of lava from its deep bosom. C. S. 

b. The Connecticut River rose higher in the spring of 1854 
than it has since the memory of man. C. S. 

c. The city of London was known to the ancients by the 
name of Lugdunum. C. S. 

Note VIII. — Besides his practical wisdom, he was well versed 
in school learning. C. S. 

promiscuous exercises on nouns. 

§ 489. In these exercises the pupil is expected, 

a. To mention the several nouns in the example. 

b. To state whether the example affords an instance of cor- 
rect syntax or of false. 



534 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

c. To repeat the rule or note which sanctions or condemns 
the use of each noun. 

1. Bad men they often honor virtue at the bottom of their 
hearts. 

Model. Men, virtue, bottom, hearts, are common nouns. 

This example affords an instance of false syntax in the use 
of the noun men without a verb, which is condemned by note 
third under rule first, " Superfluous nominatives should be avoid- 
ed in common language." 

Virtue is a common noun in the objective case, according to 
rule third, " A noun depending on the transitive verb is in the 
objective case." 

Bottom is a common noun in the objective case after at, ac- 
cording to note fourth under rule third, "A noun depending on 
a preposition is in the objective case." 

Hearts is parsed like bottom, and depends on the preposition 
of, as above. 

2. Caledonia ! stern and wild ; 
Meet nurse for a poetic child ! 

Land of brown heath and shaggy wood ; 

Land of the mountain and the flood ; 

Land of my sires ! What mortal hand 

Can e'er untie the filial band 

That knits me to thy rugged strand ! — W. Scott. 

3. How shall I speak of the old man, the bequeather of the 
fatal legacy to St. Leon, and his few fatal words, " Friendless, 
friendless ! alone, alone !" 

4. Light illumines every thing, the lowly valley as well as 
the lofty mountain ; it fructifies every thing, the humblest herb 
as well as the lordliest tree. — Hare. 

Here valley is in apposition with thing. 

5. Thales' answer to the proposed question was not thought 
so good as Solon's. 

6. Whose works are these ? They are Cicero's, the most elo- 
quent of men's. 

7. The time of William making the experiment at length ar- 
rived. 

8. The prerogative's extent of England's king is sufficiently 
ascertained. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 535 



CHAPTER III. 

SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 

§ 490. Rule Y. — Adjectives qualify or limit Substantives 
and words used as Substantives; as, "A wise man;" "he is 
good;" " many (persons) adopted this opinion." 

"When the noun to which the adjective belongs is not express- 
ed, it is said to be understood, as in the last example just given. 

Note I. — Adjectives are used in two ways : first, Attribu- 
tively ; as, " A good man died ;" second, Predicatively ; as, 
" He is good." In the first instance, the quality of goodness is 
Assumed as belonging to the subject of the verb ; in the second 
place, it is Asserted. In the first instance, the adjective good 
qualifies the Grammatical subject of the proposition ; in the 
second, it constitutes the Predicate of the proposition. 

In the proposition a good man is a merciful man, the ad- 
jective good qualifies the Grammatical subject of the proposi- 
tion, and the adjective merciful qualifies the Grammatical pred- 
icate of the proposition. The noun and adjective, good man, 
taken together, as expressing an idea, is the logical subject; 
and the noun and adjective, merciful man, taken together, is 
the logical predicate of the proposition. u Nature has made 
some of you larger and stronger than others." — Nuces Philo- 
sophical. Here larger and stronger make a part of the logical 
predicate. See § 450. 

Note II. — Adjectives belong to verbs in the Infinitive mode, 
which are equivalent to nouns ; as, " To see is pleasant ;" " to 
ride is more agreeable than to walk." 

In the sentences "to be blind is unfortunate;" u lo be wise 
is desirable," the adjectives blind and wise coalesce with the 
substantive verb to be, and thus become equivalent, the one to 
the Greek infinitive rvcpXcjrreLv, and the other to the Latin in- 
finitive sapere, either of which can supply the place of a noun. 
The combinations to be blind, to be wise, compared with a sim- 
ple infinitive, resemble the combination ivas victorious, in 
which we have a substantive verb and an adjective, a copula 



536 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

and a predicate, compared with the verb conquered, in which 
we have the copula and the predicate united in one word. 

It is a question how the phrases "to set light by" "to make 
bold withy etc., should be parsed. They are equivalent to cer- 
tain verbs: to set light by = to despise. In some languages, 
the phrase would be formed into a compound verb. It should 
be regarded as really such in our own. To make bold with is 
an idiom that should not be encouraged. 

Note III. — Adjectives often belong to those forms of the par- 
ticiples which are used as nouns ; as, " Walking is agreeable;" 
11 loud talking is offensive." 

Note IV. — Adjectives belong to Sentences, or whole Proposi- 
tions : " Greece, which had submitted to the arms, in her turn 
subdued the understandings of the Romans, and, contrary to 
that which in these cases commonly happens, the conquerors 
adopted the opinions and manners of the conquered." — En- 
field's Hist. Phil., b. iii., 1. " Writers and critics, misappre- 
hending the true construction of these and similar sentences, 
have supposed the attributive to belong to the verb, denoting the 
manner of action. But a little attention to the sense of such 
passages will be sufficient to detect the mistake. For instance, 
in the example from Enfield, the attributive contrary can not 
qualify the verb adopted ; for the conquerors did not adopt the 
opinions of the conquered in a manner contrary to what usual- 
ly happens ; the manner of the act is not the thing affirmed, 
nor does it come into consideration. The sense is this, the fact 
that the conquerors adopted the opinions and manners of the 
conquered was contrary to what commonly happens in like 
cases. The attributive belongs to the whole sentence or propo- 
sition. The same explanation is applicable to every simple sen- 
tence. It is not necessary to regard adjectives in such sentences 
as adverbs, or to change them to adverbs." — Webster, p. 108. 

If a sentence or part of a sentence can so far supply the place 
of a noun as to be the subject of a verb and the antecedent of a 
pronoun, why may it not also have an adjective belonging to it ? 

Note Y. — Adjectives are sometimes used to modify the mean- 
ing of other adjectives ; as, " The iron was red hot;" " the ship 
was quick sailing." These should be regarded as virtually 
compound adjectives, whether joined by a hyphen or not. Par- 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 537 

tioiples are used in the same way ; as, " In came Squire South, 
stark, staring mad." — Arbuthnot. So we meet with " Roar- 
ing drunk;" " loving jealous ;" "bloody with spurring,^?/ 
red with speed." 

Note VI. — An adjective and a noun may be taken as a com- 
pound word, which, as such, may admit of an additional adjec- 
tive ; as, " An elegant young man." The relation in this case 
is Subordinate ; for the adjective young and the noun man form 
but one idea, which is more definitely defined by the adjective 
elegant. In the expression, " He is an elegant and a young 
man," the relation is co-ordinate. 

Note VII. — " Many English verbs take an adjective with 
them to form the predicate, where an adverb would be used in 
other languages;" as, " He fell ill;" " he looks pale;" "he 
feels cold;" "he grew warm;" "her smiles amid the blushes 
lovelier show;" "glows not her blush the fairer ?" In these 
instances, the predicate is formed partly by the verb and partly 
by the adjective. 

In proof of this doctrine, which is advocated by Arnold, Dr. 
"Webster had furnished a long list of examples, with comments. 
In order to understand how the doctrine can be true, it should 
be borne in mind that a Common verb contains in itself an at- 
tributive element or an adjective ; and, as one adjective can 
combine with another when separate from the verb, so it may 
when it is an element in the verb. See § 513. 

Note VIII. — The adjectives like, nigh, near, next, are follow- 
ed by the objective case. In the expression this is like him, 
the original power of the dative remains, though in current lan- 
guage him is in the accusative case. This is inferred, 1. From 
the fact that, in most languages that have. inflections to a suf- 
ficient extent, the word meaning like governs a dative case ; 2. 
That if we ever use any preposition at all to express similitude, 
it is the preposition to ; like to me. Some grammarians prefer 
considering the preposition to understood as the governing word. 

Note IX. — Adjectives are often used as Substantives, especial- 
ly when preceded by the definite article or the demonstrative 
pronouns, and sometimes take the sign of the plural ; as, " The 
wise;" "the deep;" "the sublime;" "these evils of war;" 
" those goods of fortune ;" " these sweets of life." 



538 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note X. — A substantive, or a phrase standing immediately 
before a substantive, is often equivalent to an adjective ; as, " A 
barn door ;" " the marriage act ;" " an off-hand manner." See 
§266. 

Note XI. — When an adjective is used to express comparison 
between two objects, it is put in the Comparative degree ; as, 
" He is the taller of the two ;" " she is more discreet than her 
sister." Even good writers, however, sometimes depart from 
this usage, and employ the Superlative in the comparison be- 
tween two objects. This practice should not be encouraged. 

Note XII. — When tin adjective is used to express comparison 
between more than two objects of the same class, it is put in 
the Superlative; as, "He was the bravest of the brave;" "she 
was the loveliest of women." 

In the use of the Comparative degree, if the terms of compar- 
ison belong to one and the same class, Gther is prefixed to the 
second term ; as, " Socrates was wiser than the other Athe- 
nians." In the use of the Superlative degree, as the object ex- 
pressed by the first term of the comparison is contained in the 
class expressed by the second term, the word other can not be 
admitted ; as, " Socrates was the wisest of the Athenians," not 
the wisest of the other Athenians. " The loveliest of her daugh- 
ters, Eve," is phraseology condemned, on the ground that it im- 
plies that the first term, Eve, is contained in the second term of 
the comparison, daughters ; whereas, from the nature of the 
case, it can not be thus contained. 

Note XIII. — Double Comparatives and Superlatives should be 
avoided; as, "More wiser;" "more braver ;" " most strong- 
est." Worser is obsolete, but lesser is still in use, as well as its 
abbreviation less. The superlative form of certain adjectives, 
which in the positive contain the utmost degree of the quality, 
is not in correct use ; as, Extremest, chief est; truest, Tightest. 
Certain other pleonastic expressions of this kind are in current 
use among respectable authors ; as, More perfect, most perfect; 
less universal, so universal ; most unkindest ; " but that I love 
thee best, most best, believe it." — Hamlet. ' This phraseology 
is not to be encouraged, though we may have to submit to it. 
Thus the word lesser is used for less by good authors. 

Note XIV. — Adjectives and Adverbs are sometimes improp- 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 539 

erly used for each other ; as, "Extreme bad weather," for ex- 
tremely; " the then ministry," for the then existing ministry; 
"weeds and flowers promiscuous shoot," for promiscuously ; 
" indifferent honest" for indifferently honest. 

Note XV. — An adjective is sometimes used Infinitively, or In- 
dependently of a noun, when joined to a verb infinitive or to a 
participle; as, " To be cheerful is the habit of a truly pious 
mind ;" " the desire of being happy reigns in all hearts." See 
note second. 

THE COLLOCATION OF ADJECTIVES. 

§ 491. The adjective is generally placed immediately before 
the substantive ; as, A learned man ; a virtuous woman. 

Exception 1. When the adjective is closely connected with 
some other word, by which its meaning is modified or explained ; 
as, " A man loyal to his prince ;" " he is four years old;" " an 
army fifty thousand strong ;" " a wall three feet thick" 

Exc. 2. When the verb serves chiefly the purpose of a copu- 
la, to unite the predicate with its subject ; as, " Thou art good ;" 
" he fell sick." 

Exc. 3. When there are more adjectives than one connected 
with the substantive ; as, " A man ivise, learned, valiant, and 
good." 

Exc. 4. When metrical harmony will be obtained ; as, 

" With eyes upraised, as one inspired, 
Pale Melancholy sat retired." 

Exc. 5. When the adjective is preceded by an adverb, the 
noun is often placed first ; as, " A man conscientiously exact." 

Exc. 6. When an adjective becomes a title; as, "Alexander 
the Great;" "Henry the First." 

Exc. 7. When time, number, or dimension are specified, the 
adjective follows the substantive ; as, " He is four years old;" 
" an army twenty thousand strong ;" " a wall three feet thick." 

Exc. 8. When an emphatical adjective is used to introduce a 
sentiment, it precedes, at some distance, the substantive which 
it qualifies; as, "Sorry I am to hear liberty of speech in this 
house imputed as a crime." 

Exc. 9. The adjective all may be separated from its substan- 
tive by the; as, "All the nations of Europe." Such and many, 



540 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

when they modify nouns in the singular number, are separated 
from them by a; as, "Such a character is rare;" " many a 
time." 

All adjectives are separated from nouns by a when preceded 
by so or as: "So rich a dress ;" "as splendid a retinue." They 
are also separated by a and the when preceded by how or how- 
ever; as, "How distinguished an act of bravery ;" "how brill- 
iant the prize;" "however just the complaint;" and by too; 
as, " Too costly a sacrifice." The word soever may be inter- 
posed between the attributive and the noun ; as, " How clear 
soever this idea of infinity ; how remote soever it may seem." — 
Locke. Double, in the sense of twice, is separated from its 
noun by the or a ; as, " Double the or a distance." In the sense 
of two-fold it is preceded by the or a; as, "The or a double 
wrapper." Both is separated from its noun by the ; as, "Both 
the men." All and singular, or every, precede the before the 
noun in these phrases : " All and singular the articles, clauses, 
and conditions ;" " all and every of the articles"- — phrases of the 
law style. 

Exc. 10. Worth not only follows the noun which it qualifies, 
but is followed by a noun denoting price or value ; as, "A book 
worth a dollar ;" "it is well worth the money;" "it is worth 
observation." If a pronoun is used after ivorth, it must be in 
the objective case : It is worth them, or it. 

Exc. 11. Certain adjectives, formed by the prefix a, follow a 
verb and a noun to which they belong, but never precede the 
noun. Such are, Adry, afeared, afraid, alone, alike, aware, 
akin, alive, asleep, awake, athirst, aloft, aghast, afloat, askew, 
ashamed, pursuant, plenty, worth ; to which may be added, 
amiss, aground, ashore, aside, and a few others, which may be 
used as modifiers or adverbs. We say one is adry, ashamed, 
alive, or awake ; but never an adry person, an ashamed child. 

Exc. 12. Certain other adjectives, like pursuant, regent, ram- 
pant, follow the noun; as, "A proclamation was issued pursu- 
ant to advice of council ;" " the prince regent ;" " a lion ram- 



In certain cases, adjectives can either follow or precede the 
noun, at the option of the writer. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 541 



EXERCISES IN THE SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 

§ 492. Rule V.- — a. To Christian nations belong the exclu- 
sive cultivation of learning and science, and the assiduous ad- 
vancement of every useful and ornamental art. C. S. 

b. He is the best accountant who can cast up correctly the 
sum of his own errors. — Nevins. C. S. 

c. Allegories, when well chosen, are like so many tracts of 
light in a discourse, that make every thing about them clear 
and beautiful. — Addison. C. S. 

d. A firm faith is the best divinity ; a good life, the best phi- 
losophy ; a clear conscience, the best law ; honesty, the best pol- 
icy ; and temperance, the best physic. C. S. 

(Mention the instances under this note in which the adjec- 
tive is used attributively and in which it is used predicatively.) 

Note I. — a. Beautiful June has come : June is beautiful. 
C. S. 

b. When bad men combine, the good must associate, else they 
will fall one by one in a contemptible struggle. — Burke. C. S. 

c. In matters of conscience, first thoughts are best ; in mat- 
ters of prudence, the best thoughts are last. C. S. 

Note II. — a. To calumniate is detestable ; to be generous is 
commendable. C. S. 

b. To do so, my lord duke, replied Morton, undauntedly, were 
to acknowledge ourselves the rebels you term us. — Scott. C. S. 

Note III. — Hard fighting continued four hours. C. S. 

Note IY. — a. No such original convention of the people was 
ever held antecedent to the existence of civil government. C. S. 

b. Either, said I, you did not know the way well, or you did ; 
if the former, it was dishonest in you to undertake to guide me ; 
if the latter, you have willfully led me out of the way. — W. 
Cobbett. C. S. 

Note Y. — a. I never met with a closer grained wood. C. S. 

b. Some deemed him wondrous wise, and some believed him 
mad. — Beattie. C. S. 

Note VI. — He described a beautiful young lady leading a 
blind old man. C. S. 

Note VII. — a. Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. 
C. S. 



542 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

h. But redder yet that light shall glow 

On Linden's hills of blood-stain'd snow, 
And bloodier yet the torrent flow 

Of Iser, rolling rapidly. — Campbell. C. S. 

Note YIII. — a. If she is not one of the immortals, she is like 
them. C. S. 

b. Each sudden breath of wind passed by us like the voice of 
a spirit. — Professor Wilson. C. S. 

Note IX. — a. He enjoys the goods of fortune with a grateful 
heart. C. S. 

b. The generous who is always just, and the just who is al- 
ways generous, may, unannounced, approach fhe throne of heav- 
en. C. S. 

Note X. — Having leaped the stone wall, he drank spring wa- 
ter which issued from the base of the mountain. C. S. 

Note XI. — a. He is the strongest of the two, but not the wis- 
est. F. S. 

b. Moses was the meekest of men. C. S. 

Note XII. — a. He spoke with so much propriety that I under- 
stood him the best of all others that spoke on the subject. F. S. 

b. He was graver than the other Frenchmen. C. S. 

c. In the language of the Edinburgh Review, Jonathan Ed- 
wards is one of the acutest, most powerful, and, of all reasoners, 
the most conscientious and sincere. C. S. 

Note XIII. — a. His work was perfect, his brother's more per- 
fect, and his father's the most perfect of all. F. S. 

b. It is more easier to build two chimneys than to maintain 
one. F. S. 

c. They chose, as they thought, of the two the lesser evil. — 
John Randolph. 

Note XIY. — a. You had scarce gone when he arrived. F. S. 

b. The tutor addressed him in terms rather warm, but suita- 
bly to his offense. F. S. 

Note XY. — a. To be trifling in youth is a bad omen. C. S. 

b. To be innocent is to be not guilty, but to be virtuous is to 
overcome our evil inclinations. — Penn. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 543 



SYNTAX OF PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES OR ADJECTIVE 

PRONOUNS. 

§ 493. Rule VI. — Pronominal Adjectives, like adjectives, 
belong to substantives and to words used as substantives. See 
examples in the notes below. 

Note I. — The Demonstrative Adjective Pronouns this and 
that agree with nouns in the singular number, these and 
those with nouns in the plural number; as, This city, that 
church ; these cities, those churches. 

Note II. — This, that, and other adjectives denoting unity, 
are joined to nouns in the plural form denoting an aggregate or 
a unity of idea ; as, " This ten years ;" " every three years" 
A plural form expressing unity of idea is sometimes, by the in- 
fluence of this idea, changed to the singular form ; as, Tivelve 
months into twelvemonth; seven nights into sevennight ; four- 
teen nights into fortnight. 

Note III. — This and that, these and those, are joined either 
in the singular or the plural number to the word means, which 
has the same form in both numbers ; as, " This means ;" " these 
means" 

Note IV. — The Personal pronoun them is sometimes improp- 
erly used for these and those ; as, " G-ive me them books" for 
" give me those books ;" " read them lines" for " read these 
lines." This error can be historically accounted for by referring 
to the demonstrative power of them, which was derived from the 
Anglo-Saxon Demonstrative pronoun pcet, and not from he, she, 
or it, though it is used as the plural form of each one of them. 

Note V. — This and that, placed before a general term, not 
only individualize it like the article, but also express opposition 
between different individuals ; as, " That boy ;" " this girl." 
Here there is a contrast expressed between one boy and another 
boy, and one girl and another girl. 

Note VI. — The Distributive Adjective Pronouns each, ev- 
ery, either, require the nouns to which they belong to be in 
the singular number. 

Each is employed to denote two or more taken separately ; 
as, "Each member is entitled to his share." 

Every is applied to more than two objects taken individually, 



544 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

and comprehends them all ; as, "Every tree is known by its 
fruit." It is sometimes joined to a plural noun, when the things 
are conceived of as forming one aggregate; as, "Every twelve 
years." 

Either and neither signify only one of two ; as, " Take ei- 
ther of the two apples," that is, one or the other, but not both. 
Either is sometimes used improperly for each or both; as, " On 
either side of the river." Either has sometimes the meaning 
of one or another of any number ; as, " You may take either of 
these ten books." This use of the word either is not to be en- 
couraged. 

Instead of either, the phrase any one or the word any should 
be employed. So, instead of neither, in like manner, none or 
no one should be employed. Thus, instead of saying " either of 
the fifty men," we should say " any one of the fifty men," or 
" one of the fifty men." 

Note VII. — Many, few, several, denote number, and belong 
to plural substantives ; as, "Many men;" "few offices;" " sev- 
eral prisoners" 

Many is used with a singular substantive, with the article a 
between it and the substantive ; as, " You, I know, have many 
a time sacrificed your own feelings to those of others." " A 
great many" is a phrase in current use. 

Few may take the article a before it, though that article can 
not be used with a plural word ; as, " Can you lend me a few 
shillings ?" 

Much and little denote quantity, and are used in the sin- 
gular ; as, "Much money ;" " little money ." 

More and most denote number and quantity, and are used 
both in the singular and the plural number; as, "More fruit" 
"most fruit;" "more men," "most men" 

Note VIII. — All, none, no, some, any, denote number or 
quantity, and belong to singular or plural nouns; as, "All 
men ;" " all the earth." No and none differ as my and mine, 
etc. ; as, " I have no paper ;" " as to paper, I have none." None, 
like mine, was formerly used before a vowel. " This is none 
other but the house of Grod." — Gen., xxviii., 17. Though com- 
pounded of no one, none is used as either singular or plural. 
" Some men" (number) ; " some water" (quantity). Some is 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 545 

used with numerals to signify about. " Some fifty years ago." 
Mr. Crombie considers this phraseology as highly objectionable, 
but it is a good old Saxon idiom. "Sum" is often found com- 
bined with the genitive plural of the cardinal numbers, and sig- 
nifies about; as, " Sume ten gear" some ten years. Arnold, 
p. 25, from Rask, p. 61. " Any food" (quantity) ; " any ap- 
ples" (number). Any is sometimes equivalent to every ; as, 
" Any body can do that." It is sometimes indefinite, being 
equivalent to some ; as, " Shall we tell any body our misfor- 
tunes ?" the particular person being left undecided. 

Enough is an adjective singular, and denotes quantity ; as, 
" Bread enough." Enow, the old plural of enough, denotes 
number ; as, " Books enoiv." 

Note IX. — There is an ambiguity in the adjective no against 
which it is necessary to guard. Thus, if we say, " No laws are 
better than the English," it may mean either that the absence 
of all law is better than the English laws, or that no code of ju- 
risprudence is superior to the English. If the latter be the 
meaning intended, the ambiguity is removed by saying, " There 
are no laws better than the English." If the former, we might 
say, " The absence of all law is preferable to the English sys- 
tem." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE VI. 
PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES. 

Rule VI. — See examples in the notes below. 

Note I. — a. These sort of actions injure society. F. S. 

b. Those kind of injuries bring with them an appropriate pun- 
ishment. F. S. 

Note II. — I have not been in "Washington this five years. C. S. 

Note III. — a. By this means they are happy in each other. 
C.S. 

b. By that means he preserved his superiority. C. S. 

c. In the use of these means he preserved his superiority. C. S. 
Note IV.— Will you drive them cattle out of the lot? F. S. 
Note Y. — This student is industrious, that soldier is brave. 

C.S. 

Note YL— a. Each had his place appointed, each his course. 
C.S. 

M M 



546 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

b. Each of them, in their turn, receive the benefits to which 
they are entitled. F. S. 

c. Every nation has reason to feel interested in the preten- 
sions of its own native language ; in the original quality of that 
language, or characteristic kind of its power ; and in the par- 
ticular degree of its expansion at the period in question. — De 

Q,UINCEY. C. S. 

d. Every person, whatever be their station, is bound to obey 
the laws of morality. F. S. 

e. Are either of those five men worthy of public confidence ? 
F. S. 

/. Are either of those two men worthy of public confidence ? 
C. S. 

g. Neither of those men are aware that their opinions are 
false. F. S. 

h. It is neither grace, nor is it dignity, that speaks to us from 
the noble countenance of Juno Ludovici ; it is neither, because 
it is at the same time both. — Schiller, Translation. C. S. 

Note VII. — Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou 
excellest them all. C. S. 

Note VIII. — All nature is but art unknown to thee ; 

All chance direction which thou canst not see ; 

All discord harmony not understood ; 

All partial evil universal good. — Pope. C. S. 

Note IX. — No religion is better than the Mohammedan. 
(State each of the two meanings which this ambiguous sentence 
may express.) 

SYNTAX OF NUMERAL ADJECTIVES. 

§ 494. Rule YII. — The Cardinal one, the Ordinal first, 
and the word single, are naturally Singular, and are used with 
nouns in the singular number. 

The Cardinals two, three, etc., which answer to the ques- 
tion how many, are used with nouns in the plural number. 

The Ordinals second, third, etc., which denote what place 
the thing occupies ; 

The MULTIPLICATIVES DOUBLE, TWO-FOLD, TRIPLE, THREE-FOLD, 

four-fold, which show how many times one thing exceeds an- 
other, are used with nouns in the singular number. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 547 

Note I. — After Numerals, the words pair, couple, dozen, 
score, hundred, thousand, etc., do not take the plural form ; 
as, " Six pair of shoes ;" " three dozen of apples ;" "four couple 
of dancers." "We say twenty sail of vessels ; a hundred head 
of cattle. 

Note II. — Both Cardinals and Ordinals can be used as nouns, 
and some of them take the plural termination ; as, Ones, twos, 
threes, tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, seconds, thirds, 
fourths. See § 282. 

Note III. — It has "been a question whether the Ordinal shall 
come before the Cardinal ; for instance, whether the^rs^ three, 
or the three first, is the correct order. The objection to the use 
of first three is, that it implies an absurdity, when there is no 
second three. The objection to the use of three first is, that it 
implies an absurdity, since there can be but one first. Each 
order is justified by respectable usage. A preacher, having his 
mind upon the number of stanzas to be sung, would be apt to 
say the " four first stanzas." The captains of two different 
classes at school would be called the two first boys. The first 
and second boys of the same class would be called the first two 
boys. Expressions like two first are sanctioned by the example 
of some of the best writers ; so also are expressions like first 
two, which, indeed, in some cases, are to be preferred. " The 
fathers of the five first centuries." — Middleton. "I have not 
numbered the lines, except of the four first books." — Cowper. 
So we say " the two former" and " the two latter," or "the 
three former" and "the three latter." " < The three former' are 
relics of the idiom of the ancient Britons ; ; the three latter' of 
that spoken by the inhabitants of Ireland." — Prichard's East- 
ern Origin of the Celtic Nations, p. 25. It is becoming the 
more common practice to name the Ordinal first. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE VII. 

NUMERAL ADJECTIVES. 

Rule VII. — a. One man esteemeth one day above another. 
C S. 

b. Washington is first in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen. C. S. 

c. No single man is born with the right of controlling all the 
rest. C. S. 



648 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

d. Two similar horses used together are called a span. 

as. 

e. Let a double portion of his spirit rest upon me. C. S. 
/. Man has a two-fold nature. C. S. 

Note I. — There were six pair of doves, two couple of par- 
tridges, and three brace of ducks. C. S. 

Note II. — a. They came and departed by twos. C. S. 

b. Shout ye ! and ye ! make answer, Saul hath slain 

His thousands ; David his ten thousands slain. C. S. 

Note III. — The clergyman commenced the services by read- 
ing the four first stanzas of the 90th Psalm, omitting the fifth 
and last. C. S. 

State the arguments for the use of each form. 

SYNTAX OF THE ARTICLE "an" OR " A." 

§ 495. Rule VIII. — The article an or a, called the Indefinite 
Article, is used before nouns in the singular number, to show 
that some single object is meant, without specifying or denning 
it ; as, An army ; a book. 

Note I. — The Indefinite Article has sometimes the meaning 
of every or each; as, "They cost five dollars a dozen;" "it 
cost ten cents an inch" = " every dozen," "each inch." The 
following adjective pronouns exclude the articles : This, that, 
each, every, either, any, much, some, no, none, neither. 

Note II. — The Indefinite Article is placed before plural nouns 
preceded by feiu or many, and also before any collective word ; 
as, " A few days ;" "a great many persons ;" " a hundred men ;" 
" a thousand years." A never precedes many without the in- 
tervention of great between them, but follows many, standing 
between this word and a noun; as, "Many a man." Some 
other pronominal adjectives, in like manner, precede the arti- 
cles ; as, All, both, many, such. 

Note III. — The omission or the insertion of the indefinite ar- 
ticle in some instances nearly reverses the meaning. Its omis- 
sion before such words as few, little, shows that the number or 
quantity indicated by the adjectives is taken in its proper sense : 
"Ah! little think the gay, licentious, proud." Here little is 
equivalent to " not much," or, by a trope, to " not at all." " He 
reads with a little attention." Here, on the contrary, when 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 549 

the indefinite article is inserted, "a little" means "not none," 
or " some." If we say " few accompanied the prince," we seem 
to disparage the number, and to represent it as inconsiderable, 
as if we said " not many." If we say " a few accompanied the 
prince," we seem to amplify the number, as if it were not un- 
worthy of attention. If the article is inserted, the clause is 
equivalent to a double negative, and thus serves to amplify ; if 
the article is suppressed, the expression has either a diminutive 
or a negative import. 

Note IY. — In expressing comparison, when the indefinite ar- 
ticle is suppressed before the second term, the latter becomes the 
predicate of the subject, or first term. If, on the contrary, the 
second term is prefaced with the article, it forms the other sub- 
ject of comparison. In the former case, the subject, as possess- 
ing different qualities in various degrees, is compared with itself; 
in the latter, it is compared with something else. Thus, if we 
say, "He is a better soldier than scholar," omitting the article 
before the second term, the expression is equivalent to " he pos- 
sesses the qualities of a soldier in a higher degree than those of 
a scholar," or "he is more warlike than learned." If, on the 
contrary, the second term is preceded by the article, it forms the 
other subject of comparison. Thus, " He would make a better 
soldier than a scholar," denotes that " he would make a better 
soldier than a scholar would make." 

Note Y. — The indefinite article, like the definite, is employed 
to distinguish between things which are individually different, 
but have one generic name, and things which in reality are one 
and the same, but are characterized by different qualities. " A 
black and a white horse," or "a black horse and a white," con- 
veys the idea of two horses, the one black and the other white. 
"A black and white horse," on the contrary, denotes one horse, 
partly black and partly white. In general, the ellipsis of arti- 
cles implies identity, whether with respect to person, subject, or 
predicate ; the insertion or repetition of them, diversity. 

Note VI. — The word to which a or an refers must always be 
expressed ; that to which one refers may be understood. Point- 
ing to books, we can not say, " Grive me a or an;" but we may 
say, " Grive me one" Moreover, if you say, " Grive me one 
book," you are understood to say, " Grive a single book, and not 



550 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

two or more ;" "but if you say, " Give me a Look," you are sup- 
posed to say, " Give me a book, and not something else." 

Note VII. — "When the meaning of a term is general, it should 
not be limited by the use of the article ; as, " Man is born to 
trouble," that is, " all men." " God Almighty has given reason 
to a man, to be a light to him." The article here should be 
suppressed. " Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel ?" It is 
not any wheel that Pope meant, but a known instrument of tor- 
ture, or "the wheel." 

Note VIII. — The indefinite article is applied to proper 
names; as, 

" From liberty each nobler science sprung ; 
A Bacon brightened, and a Spenser sung." 

Note IX. — The form of the indefinite article depends on the 
sound by which it is followed. "When it is followed by a vowel 
sound, it has the form of an ; as, An artist; an eagle ; an hour. 
"When it is followed by a consonantal sound, it has the form of 
a ; as, A lion ; a union ; a oneness. The form before the letter 
h is not uniform, as the practice of sounding or suppressing the 
aspirate is not uniform. See § 285. 

For the use of the articles with the present participle, see § 521 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE VIII. 
THE ARTICLE "an" OR " A." 

Rule VIII. — In my journey I traveled through a beautiful 
valley. C. S. 

Note I. — They visit the north once a year for health and re- 
laxation. C. S. 

Note II. — a. He will come in a few hours to make arrange- 
ments for his voyage. C. S. 

b. And many a banner shall be torn, 

And many a knight to earth be borne, 
And many a shaft of arrows spent, 
Ere Scotland's king shall pass the Trent. C. S. 
C. Full many a gem, of purest ray serene, 

The dark, unfathom'd caves of ocean bear ; 
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 

And waste its sweetness on the desert air. C. S. 

Note III. — He has few friends ; he has a few friends. He 
has little money ; he has a little money. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 551 

Note IY. — a. He is a better artist than seaman. C. S. 

b. He would make a better artist than a seaman. C. S. 

Note V. — A black and white horse ; a black and a white 
horse. Grive equivalents for the two last expressions. 

Note YI. — Here are apples ; give me one. C. S. 

Note YII. — a. A man is the noblest work of creation. F. S. 

b. He was doomed to ascend a scaffold. F. S. 

Note VIII. — It needed a Newton to demonstrate the laws of 
gravitation. C. S. 

Note IX. There was an unanimity that was very gratifying. 
F. S. 

SYNTAX OF THE 

§ 496. Rule IX. — The article the, called the Definite Article, 
is used before nouns, both in the singular and plural number, to 
specify and define their meaning; as, "The President;" "the 
Senate ;" " the Representatives." 

Note I. — The omission of the definite article, when the sense 
is restricted, creates ambiguity ; as, " All words which are signs 
of complex ideas furnish matter of mistake." This may mean 
either that all words are signs of complex ideas, and furnish 
matter of mistake, or that such a part of them as are the signs 
of complex ideas furnish matter of mistake. The ambiguity is 
removed by the use of the article ; as, " All the words which are 
signs of complex ideas furnish matter of mistake." 

Note II.' — The definite article is likewise used to distinguish 
between things which are individually different, but have one 
generic name, and things which are, in truth, one and the same, 
but are characterized by several qualities : " The red and white 
roses were most admired." It may be doubtful whether two 
kinds of roses are here indicated, or roses with two colors. By 
repeating the article the ambiguity is removed : " The red and 
the white roses." In this phraseology two kinds of roses are in- 
dicated. The expression, " The ecclesiastical and secular pow- 
ers concurred in this measure," is ambiguous so far as language 
can make it so. By repeating the article or varying the phrase- 
ology, the ambiguity is removed : " The ecclesiastical and the 
secular powers ;" or " the ecclesiastical powers and the secular ;" 
or " the ecclesiastical powers and the secular powers." 



552 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note III. — When an additional epithet or description of the 
same subject is intended, the definite article should not he em- 
ployed. For this reason, the following sentence is faulty : " The 
Apostle James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. John, 
would be declared the apostle of the Britons." It should be 
" and brother of St. John." When a diversity of persons or a 
change of subject is intended to be expressed, the definite article 
is necessarily employed ; as, " Cincinnatus the dictator, and the 
master of the horse, marched against the iEqui." Were the ar- 
ticle omitted, the expression would imply that the dictator and 
the master of the horse were one and the same individual. 

Note IV. — In general, it may be sufficient to prefix the arti- 
cle, whether definite or indefinite, to the former of two words in 
the same construction ; as, " There were many hours both of 
the night and day which he could spend without suspicion in 
solitary thought." It might have been of the night and of the 
day. And, for the sake of emphasis, we often repeat the article 
in a series of epithets ; as, " He hoped that this title would se- 
cure him an ample and an independent authority." The arti- 
cle is repeated before titles ; as, " The honorable the lord mayor." 

Note Y. — The definite article is often placed before an adjec- 
tive when the noun is understood ; as, " Cowards die many 
times, the valiant never taste of death but once." 

Note VI. — The definite article gives energy and precision 
when applied to comparatives and superlatives; as, "The more 
frequently I see him, the more I respect him ;" " at the ivorst, 
I could incur but a gentle reprimand ;" " for neither if we eat 
are we the better ; neither if we eat not are we the ivorse" 
See § 287. 

Note VII. — As proper names are already determinate, they 
do not admit the article, except, 1. When a particular family is 
distinguished ; as, " He was a Stuart," or " of the family of the 
Stuarts." 2. When eminence is implied; as, "A Brutus;" 
meaning a patriotic person. 3. When a common name is un- 
derstood ; as, "The (river) Hudson." 

Note VIII. — The use of the definite article before the relative 
which has become obsolete : " Where there was a garden, into 
the which he entered." — John, xviii., 1. 

Note IX. — Formerly, to express death in general, authors 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 553 

would say the death : " I will not do it to the death." — Shaks- 
peare. So expressions like " the Douglas," " the Lady Anne," 
were in use. 

Note X. — The definite article is sometimes used instead of a 
possessive pronoun; as, "He looked him full in the face ," that 
is, "his face." 

Note XL — The definite article or some other definitive is gen- 
erally prefixed to the antecedent to the pronouns who or which 
in restrictive clauses ; as, " He is the man who rescued the child 
from the flames." 

Note XII. — Articles often precede quotations from foreign lan- 
guages ; as, "The yvtidi oeavrov ;" " a ne plus ultra." 

Note XIII. — As showing the value of the article in giving def- 
initeness to the English language, the following phrase may he 
cited from the Latin language, which has no article. Filius 
regis is susceptible of four different meanings : A son of a king ; 
a son of the king ; the son of a king ; the son of the king. 

Note XIV. — The article and the demonstrative adjective pro- 
noun both individualize a general term to which it is prefixed. 
But, in addition to this, the demonstrative marks some special 
opposition between individuals. "When we say, " The man is 
good," there is no special opposition between different individ- 
uals implied by the word the, though there may be by each of 
the other words; but when we say, "That man is good," we 
imply no opposition to the other words in the sentence, but only 
to the word that. See § 286. 

Note XY. — The definite article is used to express an object of 
eminence, or the only one of the kind ; as, " The queen pro- 
rogued Parliament in person ;" " extensive knowledge is neces- 
sary for the orator." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE IX. 
THE ARTICLE "THE." 

Rule IX. — a. 

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 

Await alike the inevitable hour, 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. C. S. 

b. Beware of drunkenness : it impairs an understanding ; 



554 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

wastes an estate ; destroys a reputation ; consumes the body ; 
and renders the man of the highest parts the common jest of the 
meanest clown. F. S. 

c. All the men who were present voted against the proposi- 
tion. C. S. 

Note I. — In all cases of proscription, the universal practice is 
to direct juries, by analogy, to the statute of limitations, to de- 
cide against incorporeal rights which for many years have been 
relinquished. F. S. 

Note II. — a. The red and white bonnets were much admired. 
Give the ambiguous equivalents. 

b. Like a householder who bringeth out of his treasures things 
new and old. F. S. 

Note III. — Thomas, the brother of the general, and the colonel 
of a regiment, led the attack, (rive the ambiguous equivalents. 

Note IV. — a. He is a just, wise, generous, and influential 
man. C. S. 

b. The life of the former was almost a perpetual journey ; 
and as he possessed the various talents of the scholar and the 
statesman, he gratified his curiosity in the discharge of his duty. 
— GrIBBON. C. S. 

Note V. — Wise men are governed by their reason, the foolish 
by their passions. C. S. 

Note YI. — a. At the best, his gift was but a poor offering, 
considering his estate. C. S. 

b. At most, he would have had to travel only three miles far- 
ther. C. S. 

c. But happy they, the happiest of their kind, 
Whom gentle stars unite. C. S. 

Note VII. — He was a "Washington. He was a Cato. The 
Connecticut. C. S. 

Note VIII. — Those things in the which I will appear unto 
thee. F. S. 

Note IX. — Bear Worcester to the death. F. S. 

Note X. — He received the blow in the breast. 

Note XI. — He is the orator who will address the people this 
evening. 

Note XII. — The tout ensemble. The ultima ratio regum. 
C.S. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 555 

Note XIII. — Amicus imperatoris. Give the several mean- 
ings. 

Note XIY. — The man is bad; that man is bad. 

Note XV. — The President will deliver his message to-morrow. 

PROMISCUOUS EXERCISES ON THE ADJECTIVE. 

§ 497. In these exercises the pupil is expected, 

a. To mention the several adjectives in the example. 

b. To state whether the example affords an instance of cor- 
rect syntax or of false. 

c. To repeat the rule or note which sanctions or condemns 
the use of each adjective. See models, §§ 489 and 549. 

1. "We may reason very clearly, and exceedingly strong, with- 
out knowing that there is such a thing as a syllogism. 

2. By discussing what relates to each particular in their or- 
der, we shall better understand the subject. 

3. Let us, however, hope the best rather than fear the worst, 
and believe that there was never a right thing done nor a wise 
one spoken in vain, although the fruit of them may not spring up 
in the place designated nor at the time expected. — W. S. Landor. 

4. My father had been a leading mountaineer, and would 
still maintain the general superiority in skill and hardihood of 
the above boys (his own faction) over the below boys (so they 
were called), of which party his contemporary had been chief- 
tain. — Charles Lamb. 

5. I do not know what I may seem to the world, but to my- 
self I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, 
and diverting myself with now and then finding a smoother peb- 
ble or a prettier shell than ordinary, while the great ocean of 
truth lay all undiscovered before me. — Sir Isaac Newton. 

6. Higher, higher still we climb 

Up the mount of glory, 
That our names may live through time 
In our country's story.— Montgomery. 

7. Pardon me, gentlemen, confidence is a plant of slow growth 
in an aged bosom. — Lord Chatham. 

8. The new set of curtains did not correspond with the old 
pair of blinds. 

9. The shortest and the best prayer that we can address to 



556 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

him who knows our wants is this : Thy will be done. — Boling- 
broke. 

10. Be you assured that the works of the English chisel fall 
not more short of the wonders of the Acropolis, than the best 
productions of modern pens fall short of the nervous and over- 
whelming compositions of those that resistless fulmined over 
Greece. — Lord Brougham. 

11. Mark, I do beseech you, the severe simplicity, the subdued 
tone of the diction in the most touching parts of the old man 
eloquent's loftiest passages. — Lord Brougham. 

PROMISCUOUS EXAMPLES OP THE PROPER AND IM- 
PROPER USE OF THE ARTICLES. 

§ 498. a. " And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured." The 
should be inserted before " Scribes," to signify that they were a 
class distinct from the Pharisees. 

b. " Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth, shall come, he will 
guide you into all truth." The passage should have run, all 
the truth, that is, the truth concerning the Christian religion. 

c. " There are few words in the English language which are 
employed in a more loose and circumscribed sense than those of 
the fancy and the imagination."-— Spectator. The words those 
of the are worse than superfluous. 

d. " If I but stretch this hand, 

I heave the gods, the ocean, and the land." — Pope. 

The objects here are distinct, and are properly marked as such 
by the repetition of the definite article. 

e. "A cool head, an unfeeling heart, and a cowardly disposi- 
tion, prompted him, at the age of nineteen, to assume the mask 
of hypocrisy, which he never laid aside." The repetition of the 
article distinctly marks the three properties in Augustus which 
Gibbon wished his readers to notice. 

/. " But the great triumphs of modern ingenuity and art are 
those astronomical clocks and watches, in which the counted vi- 
brations of a pendulum or balance-wheel have detected period- 
ical inequalities even in the motion of the earth itself." — Ar- 
nott's Physics. A pendulum is not a balance-wheel. The dis- 
inction should have been marked by the insertion of the article 
a before the word balance-wheel. 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 557 



CHAPTER IY. 

SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

§ 499. Rule X. — Personal Pronouns agree with their Ante- 
cedents, or the nouns which they represent, in Gender, Number, 
and Person ; as, " Dryden then "betook himself to a weapon at 
which he was not likely to find his match ;" " If Lady Alice 
knew her guests to have been concerned in the insurrection, she 
was undoubtedly guilty of what in strictness is a capital crime." 

Note I. — "When the Antecedent is a Collective noun convey- 
ing the idea of Unity, the pronoun must agree with it in the 
Singular number ; as, " The Court gave its decision in favor of 
the plaintiff." 

Note II. — When the Antecedent is a Collective noun, convey- 
ing the idea of Plurality, the pronoun must agree with it in the 
Plural number ; as, " The Senate were divided in their opinions." 

Note III. — "When the Antecedent is a noun denoting a young 
Child, or an Animal which is masculine or feminine, without any 
regard to sex, the pronoun must agree with it in the Neuter gen- 
der ; as, " That is a beautiful child ; how old is it . ? " " The robin 
builds its nest near the habitations of men." 

Note IV.- — "When the Antecedent, in the Singular number, is 
qualified by the adjective many and the article a, it may some- 
times have the pronoun agree with it in the Plural number ; as, 
" But yesterday I saw many a brave warrior, in all the ; pomp 
and circumstance of war,' marching to the battle-field. Where 
are they now ?" 

Note V. — "When the Antecedent, in the plural form, indicates 
a single object, the pronoun is Singular; as, "Young's Night 
Thoughts is worthy a perusal. It is a work of genius." 

Note VI. — When the Antecedent is in fact singular, but not 
expressed, the personal pronoun we is used by monarchs, re- 
viewers, and authors generally, instead of the pronoun I; as, 
" To promote the prosperity of this kingdom, we send forth this 



558 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

our proclamation ;" " ive owe an apology to the public for not 
noticing this work on its first publication." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE X. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule X. — a. I know these men, said Monmouth ; they will 
fight. If I had but them, all would go well. C. S. 

b. Every man in the community, whatever may be their con- 
dition, should contribute to the common weal. F. S. 

c. A milk-white hind, immortal and unchanged, 
Fed on the lawns, and in the forest ranged. 
Without unspotted, innocent within, 

She feared no danger, for she felt no sin. — Dryden. C. S. 

Note I. — The committee was divided in its opinions. F. S. 

Note II. — The crowd was so great that the judges with diffi- 
culty made their way through them. F. S. 

Note III. — a. The infant put its loving hands upon its moth- 
er's neck. C. S. 

b. The deer, pursued by the hounds, hurried back to its old 
haunts. C. S. 

Note IV. In Hawick twinkled many a light ; 

Behind him soon they set in night. C. S. 

Note Y. — Read " Kent's Commentaries." It will furnish you 
with a clear statement of the doctrine. C. S. 

Note VI. — We have taken up this book chiefly for the pur- 
pose of presenting our own views on the subject of which it 
treats. C. S. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XI. — The Same Pronoun should not refer to Different 
antecedents in the same sentence; as, "He (Philip) wrote to 
that distinguished philosopher in terms polite and flattering, 
begging of him (Aristotle) to come and undertake his (Alexan- 
der's) education, and to bestow on him (Alexander) those useful 
lessons of magnanimity and virtue which every great man ought 
to possess, and which his (Philip's) numerous avocations render- 
ed impossible for him (Philip)." — Goldsmith. 

Note I. — The same or a similar form of the pronoun should be 
preserved throughout the sentence : " Pain ! pain ! be as impor- 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 559 

tunate as you please, I shall never own that thou art an evil." 
Here either thou or you should be preserved throughout. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XI. 
PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XL — a. He pursued the fugitive with his man-at-arms ; 
hut he, proving treacherous, deserted, and consequently he made 
his escape. F. S. 

b. She was devoted to the welfare of her daughter, and fur- 
nished her with an accomplished governess, hut she became dis- 
contented, and sought another home. F. S. 

Note I. — a. Think me not lost, for thee I Heaven implore, 
Thy guardian angel, though a wife no more ; 
I, when abstracted from the world you seem, 
Hint the pure thought, and frame the heavenly dream. F. S. 

b. Thou shalt be required to lie down in death, to go to the 
"bar of God, and give up your account. F. S. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule "XII. — The Pronoun and the Antecedent must not be 
introduced together as subjects of the same verb ; as, " My 
trees they are planted." There are in the language, as writ- 
ten and spoken, numerous exceptions to this rule. See §§ 481 
and 580. 

Note I. — "When the Name of a person is employed in apposi- 
tion with a pronoun in the way of explanation, as in formal 
writings, the two are subjects of the same verb, and the pronoun 
precedes the name ; as, "I, John Hancock, of Boston ;" " Seest 
thou, Lorenzo, where hangs all our hope." 

Note II. — The pronoun sometimes precedes the noun which it 
represents in the same clause ; as, " She was seated outside of 
the door, the young actress." — Bulwer. 

Note III. — The pronoun me is sometimes used as an exple- 
tive, and is equivalent to for me ; as, " Rob me the exchequer." 
This expletive use of me occurs more frequently in the Latin 
than the English, and more frequently in the Greek than in the 
Latin. As the dative case existed in the Anglo-Saxon, so 
Guest has shown, by a large induction, that it is found in the 
Old English, though the inflections in Anglo-Saxon had disap- 



560 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

peared. Certain forms of the current English like the one 
quoted indicate the dative case ; as, " Now play me, Nestor ;" 
" I will roar you as gently as a sucking dove." 

Note IV. — The personal pronoun them is sometimes improp- 
erly used for the demonstrative pronouns those or these ; as, 
" Give me them hooks." 

Note V. — Personal pronouns are improperly used in the wrong 
case. See exercises. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XII. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XII. — a. The commander of the detachment was killed, 
and the soldiers they have all fled. F. S. 

b. The lamb thy riot doom'd to bleed to-day, 

Had he thy reason, would he skip and play 1 C. S. 

Note I. — I, Franklin Pierce, President of the United States. 

Note II. — a. It curled not Tweed alone that breeze. C. S. 

b. It is gone, that sensibility of principle, that chastity of 

honor, which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage 

while it mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, 

and under which vice lost half its evil by losing all its grossness. 

— Burke. It here represents the " sensibility of principle and 

the chastity of honor." 

Note III. Villain, knock me at this gate, 

And rap me well. — Taming of the Shrew. C. S. 

Note IY. — Do you see them soldiers escorting the governor 
to the State-house ? F. S. 

Note Y. — a. Gentle reader, let you and I, in like manner, en- 
deavor to improve the inclosure of the car. — Southey. Here I 
should be changed to me. 

b. At an hour 

When all slept sound, save she who bore them both. — Rogers. 
Here the nominative she should be changed to*the objective 
her. 

c. It is not fit for such as us to sit with the rulers of the land. 
— Scott. Here " such as ws" should be changed to " such as 
weP 

d. Stimulated in turn by their approbation, and that of better 
judges than them were, he turned to their literature with re- 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 561 

doubled energy. — Quarterly Revieiv. It should stand " "better 
judges than they were," not "than them were." 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XIII. — Personal pronouns are employed without any 
antecedents when the nouns which they represent are assumed 
to be well known. Thus the pronouns I, thou, you, ye, and we, 
representing either the persons speaking or the persons spoken 
of, are employed without having any antecedents expressed. 

You is used indefinitely for any person who may read the work 
in which the word is thus used ; as, " You may trust an honest 
man." He and they are used in the same indefinite manner ; 
as, " He seldom lives frugally who lives by chance ;" " Blessed 
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." 

Note I. — The pronoun me is often incorrectly substituted for 
I; as, "Who is there ? mef " Is she as tall as meP The rea- 
son of this erroneous practice seems to lie in the fact that there 
is less consciousness of personality indicated in the objective me 
than in the subjective I. Grammatically, too, it seems to us as 
if I always requires something to follow it. 

Note II. — Instead of the true nominative ye, we use, with few 
exceptions, the objective case ; as, " You speak f " You two are 
speaking.''' 1 In this we substitute one case for another. In- 
stead of the true pronoun of the second person singular thou, we 
use, with few exceptions, the pronoun of the second person plu- 
ral ye, and that in the objective rather than in the nominative 
case. We not only say ye instead of thou, but you instead of 
ye. Guest remarks that, at one time, the two forms ye and you 
seem to have been nearly changing place in our language : 
" What gain you by forbidding it to tease ye, 
It now can neither trouble you nor please ye." — Dryden. 

Ye, in the accusative, is now sometimes used by poets. Its 
use should not be encouraged. See § 289. 

Note III. — The use of one number for another is current 
throughout the Gothic languages, as you for thou in the English. 
A pronoun thus used has been termed pronomen reverentice, a 
pronoun used in the way of respect for the person addressed. In 
the German and the Danish, the pronomen reverentice is got at 
by a change not of number alone, but of number and person. 

Nn 



562 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

The pronoun of the third person is used instead of that of the 
second, just as if in English we should say, Will they walk= 
will you walk; will ye walk; wilt thou walk. 

Expressions of respect, like "your Honor," "your Excellen- 
cy," " your Highness," are followed more generally by pronouns 
of the third person, but sometimes by pronouns of the second 
person. 

Note IV. — The tenth rule with respect to gender applies only 
to pronouns of the third person, he, she, it. I, thou, we, you, 
they, have the same form for the several genders. 

Note V. — a. It is used with verbs called impersonal ; as, "It 
rains." Here there is no antecedent. 

b. It is used to introduce a sentence, preceding a verb as the 
nominative, but representing a clause that comes afterward ; as, 
"It is well known that the Jews were at this time under the 
dominion of the Romans." Here it represents the whole sen- 
tence, except the clause in which it stands. 

c. It is used as the representative of the subject of a proposi- 
tion when the subject is placed last ; as, " It is to be hoped that 
we shall succeed." Here that we shall succeed is the subject 
which it represents. 

d. It is used to represent a plural noun ; as, "It was the Ro- 
mans that aimed at the conquest of the world." 

e. It is used to represent a pronoun of the first, or the second, 
or the third person ; as, "It is I ;" " it is you ;" " it is he." 

/. It is used to represent a noun in the masculine or the fem- 
inine gender ; as, "It was Judas who betrayed his Master." 

g. It is used to express a general condition or state ; as, "How 
is it with you ?" 

h. It is used after intransitive verbs in an indefinite way ; 
as, "Whether the charmer sinner it or saint it;" "The mole 
courses it not on the ground." 

When the sentence admits of two nominatives, we now make 
it the subject of the verb. Anciently it was the predicate. 

"It am I 

That loveth so hot Emilie the bright, 

That I would die present in her sight." — Chaucer. 

Note YI. — Its is probably a secondary genitive, and is of late 
origin in the language. The Anglo-Saxon was his, the genitive 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 563 

of he, for the neuter and the masculine equally. Hence when, 
in the old writers, we meet his where we expect its, we must 
not suppose that any personification takes place, hut simply that 
the old genitive common to the two genders is used in prefer- 
ence to the modern one, limited to the neuter and irregularly 
formed. Thus, " The apoplexy is, as I take it, a kind of lethargy. 
I have read the cause of his effects in Gralen ; it is a kind of 
deafness." — 2 Henry IV., i., 2. "If the salt have lost his savor, 
wherewith shall it he seasoned ? It is neither fit for the land 
aor yet for the dunghill, but men cast it out." — Luke, xiv., 34, 35. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XIII. 
PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XIII. — a. Thou and I will attend church to-day. C. S. 

b. You may hunt through the nation without finding his 
,j>qual. C. S. 

c. He is the wise man who selects the best means for obtain- 
ing the best ends. C. S. 

d. He is the freeman whom the truth makes free. C. S. 

e. They are worthy of confidence from men who have given 
their hearts to God. C. S. 

Note I. — Unless, as I said, messieurs, you are the masters, 
and not me. F. S. 

Note II. — a. Are you two travelers on your way to Califor- 
nia? C. S. 

b. You, "William, when you return to Boston, will proceed to 
New York. C. S. (Give the two nominatives.) 

c. Yet for my sons, I thank ye gods, 'tis well ; 
Well have they perish'd, for in fight they fell. 

What is ye used for in this example ? 

Note III. — a. Will they ride ? (Give the English equivalent 
for this German form.) 

b. Will your worship furnish me with the opinion of the 
court? C.S. 

Note IV. — I, thou, we, ye, you, they love. He, she, it loves. 

Note Y.—a. It snows, and the night is cold. 

b. It was supposed that the French army were marching out 
<tf Spain. 

c. It is desirable that he should return home. 



564 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

d. It was the Americans who first applied steam to navigation 

e. Who went to Boston on that business ? It was I. 
/. It was Murat who led the cavalry in that battle. 
g. How is it with our general this morning ? 

h. In their pride they lorded it over the land. 

Come and trip it as you go, 
On the light fantastic toe. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XIV.— Two or more Antecedents, united in construction 
by the conjunction and, require their representative pronoun to 
be in the Plural Number ; as, " Socrates and Plato were wise ; 
they were the most eminent philosophers of Greece." 

Note L- — But if the Antecedents describe one person or thing, 
though connected by and, they are in apposition, and do not re- 
quire a plural pronoun ; as, " That philosopher and poet spent 
his life in the service of mankind." 

Note II. — If the Singular Antecedents united in construction 
are of several persons, the second person takes precedence of the 
third, and the first of both, in forming the plural of the repre- 
sentative pronoun ; as, " Thou and he shared it between you;" 
" James, and thou, and I are attached to our country." 

Note III. — In the Classical languages, the pronoun of the 
First person is deemed more worthy than that of the Second, and 
the Second than that of the Third. But though we in like man- 
ner place the pronoun of the second person before that of the 
third, we modestly place the pronoun of the first person after 
those of the second and third. When a Roman would say, Si tu 
et Tullia valetis, ego et Cicero valemus, we should say, " If 
you and Tullia are well, i" and Cicero are well." 

Cardinal Wolsey, in conformity with the Latin idiom, wrote, 
Ego et rex meus, " I and my king ;" but it gave offense, as if 
he wished to take precedence of his sovereign. 

Note IV. — When two antecedents in the Singular Number 
connected by the conjunction and are contrasted with each oth- 
er, they do not require a plural pronoun ; as, " The captain, and 
not the lieutenant, was, by the court-martial, removed from his 
office." 

Note V. — When two or more antecedents in the Singular 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 5(35 

Number are connected by the conjunction and and preceded by 
each or every, they do not require a plural pronoun ; as, " Each 
plant and each animal has its peculiar character." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XIV. 
PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XIY. — a. Yirtue and truth is in itself convincing. F. S. 

b. "Webster, Clay, and Calhoun are now numbered with the 
•illustrious dead. They were distinguished patriots and states- 
men. C. S. 

c. Demosthenes and Cicero were the most distinguished ora- 
tors of classic times. Their eloquence has ever been admired 
by the learned world. They were both eminent patriots. C. S. 

Note I. — a. My guide, philosopher, and friend, as Pope calls 
Bolingbroke, devoted his splendid talents to the service of infi- 
delity. C. S. 

b. That superficial scholar and critic, like some renowned 
critics of our own, have furnished most decisive proofs that they 
knew not the characters of the Hebrew language. F. S. 

Note IT. — a. In the arrangements thou and he will suit them- 
selves. F. S. 

b. Thou, and the gardener, and the huntsmen must share this 
business among them. F. S. 

Note III. — I, and John, and you were present at the inaugu- 
ration. F. S. 

Note IY. — a. Principle and not profession is demanded. C. S. 

b. Good order in our affairs, not mean savings, produce great 
profits. F. S. 

Note Y. — Every leaf, every twig, every drop of water teem 
with life. F. S. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XY. — Two or more Antecedents in the Singular Num- 
ber, separated in construction by the Disjunctive Conjunction 
or, or in any other way, require the pronoun to be in the singu- 
lar number ; as, " John or James will send his book ;" " The Bi- 
ble, and not the Koran, is read there : its influence is salutary ;" 
" Every tree and every plant produces others after its kind." 

Note I. — A Plural antecedent and a Singular antecedent, con- 



566 SYNTACTICAL FORMS, 

neoted by or or nor, require the pronoun to be in the plural num- 
ber ; as, " Neither the captain nor his men showed themselves" 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XV. 
PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XV. — a. Henry or William will give us their company, 
F. S. 

b. When did we ever find a well-educated Englishman or 
Frenchman embarrassed by an ignorance of their respective lan- 
guages. F. S. 

Note I. — a. Neither the general nor his officers showed him- 
self. F.S. 

b. Neither the president nor the members of his cabinet avow 
that they are in favor of the measure. C. S. 

SYNTAX OF THE WORD "SELF." 

§ 500. Rule XYI. — The word self is used as a Reflective 
Personal Pronoun, for the want of some word in English equiv- 
alent to the Latin se, the German sich, and the Scandinavian 
sik and sig ; as, " I hurt myself;'''' " he loves himself;" "they 
wounded themselves" 

Note I. — The constructions of the word self are three-fold : 

a. Government. — In myself thyself ourselves, and your- 
selves, the construction is that of a common substantive, with 
an adjective or genitive case. b. Apposition. — In himself and 
themselves, when accusative, the construction is that of a sub- 
stantive in apposition with a pronoun, c. Composition.— When 
they are used as nominatives, the construction can be explained 
on another principle. The only logical view that can be taken 
of the matter is to consider the words himself, themselves, not 
as two words, but as a single word compounded. Herself is 
ambiguous. Its construction is one of the preceding ; which, 
however, is uncertain, since her may be either a so-called gen- 
itive, like my, or an objective, like him. Itself is also ambig- 
uous. The s may represent either the s in self or the s in its. 

Note II. — As the word self, now called a pronoun, was orig- 
inally a substantive, so its compounds take the inflection of sub- 
stantives in the plural ; as, Ourselves, yourselves, themselves. 
Myself, thyself, himself, itself, and herself, are naturally sin- 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 5(37 

gular, and can under no circumstances become plural. Them- 
selves is naturally plural, and under no circumstances can be- 
come singular. Ourselves and yourselves are naturally plural, 
yet under certain circumstances may become singular, a. Just 
as men say we for I, may they say our for my. b. Just as men 
say you for thou, so may they say your for thy. 

Note III. — When the adjective own intervenes between self 
and its personal pronoun, the personal pronoun is always put in 
the genitive case ; as, His own self, not him own self ; their 
own selves, not them own selves 

Note IV. — "When myself or thyself stands alone, the verb 
that follows is usually in the first or second person, though 
sometimes in the third ; as, " Myself am hell." — Milton. " And 
that myself am blind." — Pope. When myself or thyself are 
preceded by I or thou, the verb that follows is in the first person 
or second : I myself am (not is) weak; thou thyself art (not is) 
weak. 

Note V. — Myself is often incorrectly used instead of the nom- 
inative I and the objective me. Its legitimate usage is either 
as a Reflective pronoun, or for the sake of Distinction and some 
particular emphasis ; as when Juliet cries, " Romeo, doff thy 
name ; and for that name, which is no part of thee, take all 
myself." Or, in the opening of the paradisiacal hymn : " These 
are thy glorious works, Parent of good, Almighty! thine this 
universal frame thus wondrous fair ! Thyself how wondrous 
then /" Here there is an evident contrast. Where there is no 
such emphasis, or purpose of bringing out a distinction or con- 
trast, the simple pronoun is the right one. Instead of saying 
my father and myself, my brother and myself, the old song, 
beginning u My father, my mother, and I," may teach us what 
is the idiomatic, and also the correct usage. In expressions like 
the following : Mrs. Tompkins and myself will be happy to 
take dinner ; Mrs. Johnson and myself have been writing to 
each other ; myself is incorrectly used for the pronoun I. 

Note YI. — The simple pronoun is sometimes used reflectively : 
" E'en now, where Alpine solitudes ascend, 
I sit me down a weary hour to spend." — Goldsmith. 

" He sat him down at a pillar's base." — Byron. 
In the phrase I strike me, the verb strike is transitive ; in 



568 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

other words, the word me expresses the object of an action, and 
the meaning is different from the meaning of the simple expres- 
sion I strike. 

Note VII. — In the phrase I fear me, the verb fear is intrans- 
itive or neuter ; in other words, the word me (unless, indeed, fear 
mean terrify) expresses no object of any action at all, while the 
meaning is nearly the same as in the simple expression I fear. 
Here the reflective pronoun appears out of place, i. e., after a 
neuter or intransitive verb. Such a use, however, is but the 
fragment of an extensive system of reflective verbs thus form- 
ed, developed in different degrees in the different (xothic lan- 
guages, and in all more than in the English. It is slightly in- 
tensive. — See Latham, p. 432. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XVI. 

Rule XVI. — In his anger he struck himself. C. S. " "We 
strike ourselves" is strictly Reflective ; "we strike each other" 
is Reciprocal. 

Note I. — a. I will go myself to the post-office. C. S. 

b. I will see John himself on this business. C. S. 

c. He himself will go to New York. C. S. 

Note II. — He suffers, but the fault is in ourselves. C. S. 

Note III. — a. He is obliging, but he loves his own dear self. 
C.S. 

b. The ill opinion of mankind is often misplaced ; but our 
own of ourselves, never. — John Randolph. G. S. 

Note IV. — I am mindful that myself (am or is) strong. C. S. 

Note V. — My brother, my sister, and myself will come. F. S. 

Note VI. — a. Salem, in ancient majesty 

Arise and lift thee to the sky ! — S. Warton. C. S. 

b. During the preparatory scene, sit thee down. C. S. 

Note VII. An enemy unto you all, 

And no great friend, I fear me, to the king. 

2 Henry V., i., 1. 

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS. 

§ 501. Rule XVII. — The Demonstrative Pronouns this, that, 
these, and those, represent nouns only in the third person, in- 
asmuch as they are used by the first person, or the person speak- 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 569 

ing, to point out to the second person some object ; as, " Relig- 
ion raises men above themselves ; irreligion sinks them beneath 
the brutes : that binds them down to a poor pitiable speck of 
earth ; this opens for them a prospect in the skies." 

Note I. — "When this and that, these and those, are used in 
the sense of latter and former, this and these stand for the 
"latter," that and those for the " former:" 

' Then palaces and lofty domes arose ; 
These for devotion, and for pleasure those.' 1 '' 

Note II.' — The personal pronoun them is sometimes improp- 
erly used for these and those ; as, " Give me them books," for 
" give me those books." This error can be historically account- 
ed for by referring to the demonstrative power of them. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XVII. . 
demonstrative pronouns. 
Rule XVII. — a. Spain was carrying on war against our trade, 
and that in the most insulting manner, during the whole time 
of our negotiations. — Lord Chatham. C. S. 

b. Lord Carlisle's recent lecture upon Pope, addressed to an 
audience of artisans, drew the public attention first of all upon 
himself — that was inevitable. — De Q,uincey. C. S. 

Note I. — a. Errors in the life breed errors in the brain, 
And these reciprocally those again. C. S. 

b. Some place the bliss in action, some in ease ; 

Those call it pleasure, and contentment these. C. S. 

Note II. — Do you not admire them trees on the common? 

F.S. 

relative pronouns. 

§ 502. Rule XVIII. — Relative Pronouns agree with the 
nouns and pronouns which they represent in gender, number, 
and person ; as, " God rules the world which he created ;" "0 
Thou who dwellest in the heavens." 

Note I. — Relative pronouns serve to connect propositions ; as, 
" The friend who relieved me has come." Here are two prop- 
ositions, 1. The friend has come ; 2. The friend (or he) relieved 
me. These two propositions are connected by the relative who, 



570 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

which expresses the identity between the persons mentioned in 
the proposition. The proposition in which the relative stands, 
has been called the Relative Proposition. 

Note II. — When there are two words in a clause, each capa- 
ble of being an antecedent, the relative refers to the latter: 1. 
Solomon, the son of David, who slew Goliath. This is unex- 
ceptionable. 2. Solomon, the son of David, ivho built the Tem- 
ple. This is exceptionable. The relative should be placed as 
near as possible to the antecedent, to prevent ambiguity; as, 
Solomon, who built the temple, was the son of David. 

Note III. — When two antecedents of different persons, one of 
which is the subject and the other the predicate, precede the rel- 
ative, the relative must agree with the one or the other, accord- 
ing to the meaning which the writer wishes to communicate : 
1. "I am the man who command" = u I who command am the 
man" = "I the commander am the man." 2. "I am the man 
who commands" = " I am the commander." If the writer wish- 
es to communicate the meaning in the sentence "I the com- 
mander am the man," he will make the relative agree with the 
subject. If he wishes to communicate the meaning contained 
in the sentence " I am the commander," he will make the rela- 
tive agree with the predicate. 

Note IV. — When the relative and the antecedent are in dif- 
ferent cases, and the relative is omitted, the antecedent is some- 
times put in the case of the relative : 

"Him I accuse 
The city gates by this has entered." — Coriolanus, v., 5. 

The reason of this is clear. The verb that determines the case 
of the relative is brought into contact with the antecedent, and 
thus by association determines its case. 

Note V. — a. Who and whom represent nouns of the masculine 
gender and of the feminine gender; as, " The man ivho came;" 
" the woman who came." 

b. Who is sometimes used indefinitely without an anteced- 
ent ; as, "I do not care ivho knows it." 

Which represents nouns used for infants, for irrational ani- 
mals, and for inanimate things ; as, " The child which I saw is 
learning to walk ;" " The bird which sang so sweetly has flown;" 
" The rivers which flow into the sea are fed by rains." 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 



571 



There are many cases, however, in which who is used for ani- 
mals ; as, " Every "body knows and loves the beautiful story of 
the dog Argos, who just lives through the term of his master's 
absence, and sees him return to his home, and recognizes him, 
and, rejoicing in the sight, dies. The propriety of this use of 
who is by some grammarians deemed questionable." 

Which formerly was used as a representative of persons ; as, 
" Mighty men which were of old." 

Whose represents nouns of the masculine gender, of the fem- 
inine gender, and of the neuter gender ; as, " The man whose 
name was John;" " the woman ivhose name was Jane;" " the 
fruit whose name is banana." 

That, as a relative, is generally used, 

a. After superlatives ; as, " The wisest man that ever lived is 
liable to error." 

b. After the word same; as, "He is the same man that came 
yesterday." 

c. After a collective noun denoting a body of persons ; as, 
" The army that marched out to battle has been defeated." 

d. After who, taken interrogatively; as, "Who that has the 
spirit of a man would suffer himself to be thus degraded ?" 

e. After persons and things taken conjointly ; as, "The men 
and things that we saw yesterday." 

That may often be considered as restrictive, even when the 
antecedent is not preceded by the definite article, as it should 
be when the other relatives are used. Thus, " All words that 
are signs of complex ideas furnish matter of mistake," is phrase- 
ology equivalent to " all the words which are signs of complex 
ideas furnish matter of mistake." 

That used as a relative does not admit a preposition before it ; 
as, " He is the same man with that you were acquainted ;" but 
we say, " He is the same man that you were acquainted with" 

Note YI. — There is an elliptical form of expression in the use 
of superlatives and ordinal numbers which may occasion some 
ambiguity. Thus, " He was the first that came," may mean 
either that " he was the first of those who came," or that " he 
that came was the first." When this distinction is not clearly 
marked by a diversity of arrangement, a regular diversity of pro- 
nouns would prevent ambiguity. That should be invariably 



572 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

used when the expression is elliptical, and who and which when 
there is no ellipsis, or when the second subject of comparison is 
not involved in the relative clause. Thus, if we mean to say, 
" He was the first of those who came," it might be expressed, 
" He was the first that came.*' "When no ellipsis is intended, 
" He was the first who came" = " He who came was the first." 

Note VII. — When relatives connected by a conjunction refer 
to the same antecedent, they should not change their form ; as, 
" He that defeated the Austrian armies in Italy, and who after- 
ward marched to Vienna at the head of his veteran soldiers." 
Instead of change of form, the relative in each case should be 
either who or that. 

Note VIII. — Collective nouns, unless they express persons di- 
rectly, require the relative which or that ; as, " He instructed 
the crowds which surrounded him." Here who would be im- 
proper. " The people who claim to be judges in the case pro- 
ceeded to inflict lynch law upon him." Here the personality is 
more distinctly brought out ; accordingly, ivho is proper. 

" But there are phrases still living in our tongue where the 
article (or personal pronoun) seems to have the power of a rela- 
tive ; I mean those in which our ordinary grammars tell us that 
the relative is omitted or understood. Thus, ' The man you just 
saw is the celebrated N. ;' i The gentleman you were talking 
with I do not know ;' 'Him I accuse the city ports by this hath 
entered.' Now in each of these phrases, the first word, call it 
what you please, is virtually a relative : ' Quern verum modo 
vidisti est clarissimus ille N. ;' ' Quern alloquebaris ego haud 
novi ;' ' Quern accuso intravit jam portam.' " — T. Hewitt Key, 
vol. iii., Phil. Soc, p. 59. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XVIII. 
RELATIVE pronouns. 

Rule XVIII. — a. Henry is a pupil which possesses fine tai- 
nts. F. S. 

•f 

b. Curran ! Curran's the man who struck me most. Such 
imagination ! There never was any thing like it. He was a 
wonderful man, even to me who had seen many remarkable 
men of the time. — Byron. C. S. 

c. And now, when I saw myself declining day by day, I turn- 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 573 

ed to those elevating and less earthly meditations, which supply 
us, as it were, with wings, when the first fail. They have been 
dearer to me than the dreams which they succeeded, and they 
whisper to me of a brighter immortality than that of fame. 
C. S. 

Note I. — I closely pursued John, who swiftly fled from me. 
C.S. 

Note II. — a. Joseph, the son of Jacob, who deceived his fa- 
ther. C. S. 

b. Joseph, the son of Jacob, who was governor of Egypt. F. S. 

c. The king dismissed his minister without any inquiry, who 
had never done so unjust an action. F. S. 

Note III. — a. I am the man, who love my friends. C. S. 
b. I am the man who loves his friends. C. S. 

Note IV. — Better leave undone, than by our deeds acquire 

Too high a fame, when him we serve's away. C.S. 

Antony and Cleopatra. 

Note Y. — a. Those who seek Wisdom will find her. C. S. 

b. I am happy in the friend whom I have long proved. C. S. 

c. Can you tell me who did this shameful act ? C.S. 

d. The infant whom you admired died suddenly. F. S. 

e. He is like a beast of prey who destroys without pity. F. S. 
/. I hope you will enjoy the book which I have sent you. C. S. 
g. Our Father, which art in heaven. 

h. To those faithful friends, whose unchanging regard has en- 
tered into the happiness of all the active years of my life, I make 
my affectionate acknowledgments, as I now part from a work 
in which they have always taken an interest, and which, wher- 
ever it goes, will carry on its pages the silent proofs of their 
kindness and taste. — Ticknor. C. S. 

i. We have a religion whose origin is divine. — Blair. C. S. 

j. The bravest man that ever fought might have trembled. C . S. 

k. She is the same lady that I saw yesterday. C. S. 

/. The convention that assembled yesterday has been dis- 
solved. C. S. 

m. Who that hopes to succeed would venture on an expedient 
like this ? C. S. 

n. The soldiers and tents that we saw yesterday we will visit 
to-day. C. S. 



574 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note VI. — He was the first that died. He was the wisest 
that Athens produced. C. S. 

Note VII. — He that wrote the Declaration of Independence, 
and who was the third President of the United States. F. S. 

Note VIII. — The court, who gives currency to manners, ought 
to be exemplary. F. S. 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

Rule XIX. — In compound sentences, the relative employed 
to introduce a new clause is nominative to the verb or verbs be- 
longing to that clause ; as, " The thirst after curiosities, which 
often draws contempt, was strongly developed ;" "He who suf- 
fers not his faculties to lie torpid has a chance of doing good ;" 
" The steamer that left this port on Saturday has been seen." 

Note I. — But if, in the new clause, there is a nominative be- 
tween the relative and the verb, then the relative is governed in 
the possessive case by a noun, or in the objective case by a verb 
or a preposition ; as, " Grod is the sovereign of the universe, 
whose majesty ought to fill us with awe ; to whom we owe all 
possible reverence, and whom we are bound to obey." Though 
the relative must be in the same gender and the same number 
as the antecedent, it need not be in the same case. 

Note II. — The antecedent is sometimes placed after the rela- 
tive ; as, "Whom the cap fits, let him put it on." 

Note III. — The antecedent is sometimes suppressed when no 
emphasis is implied; as, "Who steals my purse steals trash." 
He or the man is here understood. 

Note IV. — The relatives are often suppressed ; as, " The friend 
I visited yesterday." Here whom is understood. 

Note V. — The relative sometimes refers to a whole clause, or 
to an adjective instead of a noun; as, "He was generally de- 
spised, which occasioned much uneasiness;" "As Judas de- 
clared him innocent, which he could not be, had he in any way 
deceived his disciples." — Porteus's Lect. Here which repre- 
sents the adjective innocent. 

Note VI. — The relative is sometimes used as an adjective ; 
as, " His early friend, which friend was his ruin." 

Note VII. — When the name of a person is used merely as a 
name, and does not refer to the person, the relative which should 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 575 

be used, and not who ; as, " It is no wonder if such a man did 
not shine at the court of Queen Elizabeth, which was but an- 
other name for prudence and economy." 

Note VIII. — In some instances, which is introduced as the 
nominative to a verb, before the sentence or clause which it rep- 
resents ; as, " There was therefore, which is all that we assert, 
a course of life pursued by them different from that which they 
before led." — Paley's Evid., ch. i. Here which is the repre- 
sentative of the whole of the last part of the sentence, and its 
natural position is after that clause. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XIX. 
RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

Rule XIX. — a. They who have labored to make us wise are 
entitled to our gratitude. C. S. 

b. He who died for his country is worthy of remembrance. 
C. S. 

Note I. — a. The persons who conscience and virtue support 
may smile at the caprices of misfortune. F. S. 

b. That is the student who I gave the book to. F. S. 

c. This is the man whose virtues are admired. C. S. 
Note II. — Who lives to virtue, he lives to wisdom. C. S. 
Note ni. — a. Who lives to virtue rarely can be poor. C. S. 

h. How wearisome 

Eternity so spent in worship paid 

To whom we hate ! — Par. Lost, b. i., 249. C. S. 

Note IV. — a. What is mine, even to my life, is hers I love ; 
but the secret of my friend is not mine. — Sir P. Sydney. C. S. 

b. I hear a voice you can not hear, 

Which says I must not stay ; 
I see a hand you can not see, 

Which beckons me away. — Tickel. C. S. 

Note V. — a. In that battle he acted cowardly, which ruined 
his reputation. C. S„ 

b. A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been 
in the wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser 
to-day than he was yesterday. — Pope. C. S. 

Note VI. — The measure was sustained by one of the mem- 
bers, but by which member I do not know. C. S. 



576 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note VII. — He suffered martyrdom under Nero, who was but 
another name for cruelty. F. S. 

Note VIII. — There was, which can be proved, a great change 
in the politics of the party. C. S. 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

Rule XX. — The relative what has the sense of that which, 
and can be at the same time both in the nominative and the ob- 
jective case ; as, " I have heard what has been alleged." Here 
what is in the objective case, and governed by heard; and also 
in the nominative case to has been alleged. 

Note I. — What is sometimes used adverbially as equivalent 
to partly ; as, " The year before he had so used the matter, that 
what by force, and ivhat by policy, he had taken from the 
Christians about thirty castles." 

Note II. — What is also used improperly instead of the con- 
junction that ; as, " I can not say but what he did it." That 
is improperly used for what; as, "We speak that we do know, 
and testify that we have seen." 

Note III. — What is sometimes used as an interjection; as, 
u W1iat ! even denied a cordial at his end?" — Pope. 

Note IV. — What and its compounds are often used as adjec- 
tives ; as, " It is not material ivhat names are assigned to 
them ;" "I am whatsoever is, ivhat soever has been, whatso- 
ever shall be ; and the veil that is over my face no mortal hath 
removed." Here the noun is understood. 

Note V. — The pronouns whatsoever, whichsoever, whoso- 
ever, and the like, are elegantly divided by the interposition of 
the corresponding substantive; as, "In what light soever we 
view him, his conduct will bear inspection." 

Note VI. — Whether, in the sense of which of two, was an- 
ciently used as a relative pronoun ; as, " Let them take whether 
they will." 

Note VII. — The word where, which, in its origin, is related 
to what, is often substituted for that which; as, " Perhaps there 
is no situation the human mind can be placed in so difficult and 
so trying as where it is made the judge in its own cause." — 
Lord Mansfield. 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 577 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XX. 
RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

Rule XX. — a. "When he saw what had been done, he lifted 
up his voice and wept. C. S. 

b. I have been through the market without being able to find 
what I wanted. C. S. 

Note I. — Thus, what with war, and what with sweat, what 
with the gallows, and what with poverty, I am custom shrunk. 
C.S. 

Note II. — a. He would not be persuaded but what I was 
greatly in fault. F. S. 

b. In the interview he did not say but what he did it. F. S. 

c. If a man read little, he had need to have much cunning, 
to seem to know that he doth not. F. S. 

Note III. — "What ! to attribute the sacred sanctions of (rod 
and Nature to the massacres of the Indian scalping-knife ! C. S. 

Note IY. — By what means can you gain the end you aim at ? 

Note Y. — On what side soever I turn my eyes, I behold all 
full of courage and strength. C. S. 

Note VI. Whither when they come, they fell at words 

Whether of them should be the Lord of lords. C. S. 

Note VII. — Indeed, I can not help likening his character to 
the architectural fabrics of other ages which he most delighted 
in, where there is such a congregation of imagery and tracery 
that one is apt to get bewildered among the variety of particu- 
lar impressions, and not feel either the unity of the grand de- 
sign or the height and solid ness of the structure. — Lockhart. 

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 

§ 503. Rule XXI. — The principal noun or pronoun in the an- 
swer to a question must be in the same case with the corre- 
sponding interrogative word : Direct. Quest. Wlio is this ? 
Ans. I. Quest. Wliose is this ? Ans. His. Quest. Whom do 
you seek ? Ans. Him. Oblique. Quest. Who do you say that 
it is ? Ans. He. Quest. Whose do you say that it is ? Ans. 
His. Quest. Whom do you say that they seek ? Ans. Him. 

Note I. — When the answer is made by means of a pronoun, 
we can distinguish the accusative case from the nominative, es- 





578 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

pecially when made in full. Thus the full answer to Wlwm do 
you say that they seek ? is, I say that they seek him. Never- 
theless, such examples as Whom do they say it is ? are com- 
mon, especially in Oblique questions: "And he axed hem, and 
seide, Whom seien the people that I am ? Thei answereden and 
seiden, Jon Baptist ; and he seide to hem, But whom seien ye 
that I am ?"—- Wiclif, Luke, ix., 18-20. "And as John ful- 
filled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am ?" — Acts, 
xiii., 25. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXI. 
Tnterrogative pronouns. 

a. Who has called for me ? Him. F. S. 

b. Whose hooks have you ? John's. C. S. 

c. What are poets and philosophers but torch-bearers leading 
us through the mazes and recesses of God's two majestic tem- 
ples, the sensible and the spiritual world ? C. S. 

Note I. — But envy Had no place in his nature. Whom was 
there to envy ?- — Bulwer. This form should be avoided. 

INDETERMINATE PRONOUNS. 

§ 504. Rule XXII. — I. One, in phrases like one says = they 
say = on dit, French, is used Indeterminately. The pronoun 
has no particular antecedent : " One's leaning at first would be 
toward it." See § 316. 

II. It also is used Indeterminately either as the subject or the 
predicate of a proposition ; as, " It is this ;" " this is it ;" " I am 
it ;" " it is I." When it is the subject of a proposition, the verb 
necessarily agrees with it, and can be of the singular number 
only, no matter what be the number of the predicate : It is this ; 
it is these. When it is the predicate of a proposition, the num- 
ber of the Verb depends on the number of the subject. 

III. There, adverbial in its classification, but pronominal in 
its origin, is also used Indeterminately, but only as the predicate 
of a proposition. It differs from it in this respect, and there- 
fore differs from it in never affecting the number of the verb. 
This is determined by the nature of the subject : There is this; 
there are these. Though a predicate, there always stands in 
the beginning of propositions, •'. e., in the place of the subject. 



SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 



579 



EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXII. 
INDETERMINATE PRONOUNS. 

Rule XXII. — I. a. One would imagine these to be the ex- 
pressions of a man blessed with ease and affluence. C. S. 
b. One might visit Paris in the interval. C. S. 

II. — a. "lis two or three, my lord, that bring you word 

Macduff is fled to England. — Macbeth, iv., 1. C. S. 

b. 'Tis these that early taint the female soul. — Pope. C. S. 

c. The indeterminate pronoun was formerly omitted ; as, 

Now said the lady draweth toward the night. — F. Q.,i., i.,22. 
III.*— a. There are those who express a different opinion. 

b. There's two or three of us have seen strange sights. 

Julius CcEsar. 



RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS. 

§ 505. Rule XXIII. — In the phrases " They love each oth- 
er," " they killed one another," there is a Reciprocal con- 
struction. In the one case, each is in apposition with they, or 
included in it, in the nominative case ; in the other, one is in 
apposition with they, or included in it : in both, other is in the 
objective case. 

In a reciprocal construction, two or more propositions are ab- 
breviated into one; as, "John and Henry love each other" = 
" John loves Henry, and Henry loves John." Another refers to 
one of many, the other to one of two : " Two men were stand- 
ing on the road, and another came up ;" " Two men were stand- 
ing on the road; one walked away, and the other remained." 
Another is sometimes improperly used for each other : " These 
two kinds of diction, prose and poetry, are so different one from 
another" Here each other is the correct phraseology. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXIII. 
RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS. 

Rule XXIII. — a. William and Charles faithfully sought each 
other. C. S. 

b. "William, Charles, and Eliza generously helped one another. 

as. 



580 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 



PROMISCUOUS EXERCISES ON PRONOUNS. 

You will see one of the ablest men, one of the bravest officers 
this or any other country ever produced (it is hardly necessary 
to mention the name of Sir Walter Raleigh), sacrificed by the 
meanest prince that ever sat upon the throne, to the vindictive 
jealousy of that haughty court. — Lord Chatham. 

That philosophical statesman, Jack Cade, thus reproaches his 
prisoner, Lord Say : "It will be proved to thy face that thou hast 
men about thee that, usually talk of a noun and a verb, and such 
abominable words as no Christian ear can endure to hear." 

Language is. the depository of the accumulated body of expe- 
rience to which all former ages have contributed their part, and 
which is the inheritance of all yet to come. We have no right 
to prevent ourselves from transmitting to posterity a larger por- 
tion of this inheritance than we may ourselves have profited by. 
— Mill's Logic, p. 413. 

The eager love of knowledge, and the no less eager love of ac- 
tion ; the impulse to knoiv, and the impulse to do : these are el- 
ements spontaneously at work in human nature, and may ap- 
propriately be termed philosophical elements. — H. P. Tappan. 

Keats, a little before he died, said, " I feel the daisies growing 
over me." 

Utility is the great idol of the age, to which all powers stoop, 
and all talents do homage. 

But if, which Heaven forbid ! it hath still been unfortunately 
determined that, because he hath not bent to power and author- 
ity, because he would not bow down before the golden calf and 
worship it, he is to be bound and cast into the furnace, I do trust 
in Grod there is a redeeming spirit in the Constitution, which 
will be seen to walk with the sufferer through the flames, and 
to preserve him unhurt by the conflagration. — Curran. 

When there is a question of peace or war between two na- 
tions, that government feels itself in the wrong which refuses to 
state with clearness and precision what she would consider as a 
satisfaction and a pledge of peace. — C. J. Fox. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. $$1 



CHAPTER V. 

SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 



CONCORD. 

§ 506. Rule XXIV. — The Yerb agrees with its Subject nom- 
inative in Number and Person ; as, " I write ;" " thou rulest ;" 
" he obeys." 

The verb does not necessarily agree with its Predicate nomin- 
ative. See note below. 

When a verb is said to agree with its subject nominative, it 
is meant that it is in the same person or number with the sub- 
stantive or pronoun preceding. This is what is called, in gram- 
matical language, Concord. 

Every finite verb must have a subject nominative expressed 
or understood. 

Note I. — Plural Subjects with singular Predicates : " Honest 
men are the salt of the earth ;" " Christians are the light of the 
world." The word that comes first must be presumed to be the 
subject until the contrary is proved. The way to justify such 
an expression as the ivages of sin is death, is either to consider 
death not as the predicate but the subject, or, with Webster, 
to consider the word wages as singular. 

Note II. — Singular Subjects with plural Predicates. These 
constructions are rarer than the preceding, inasmuch as two or 
more persons (or things) are oftener spoken of as being equiva- 
lent to one, than one person (or thing) is spoken of as being 
equivalent to two or more : " Sixpence is twelve half pennies ;" 
" He is all head and shoulders." 

Note III. — A Plural title applied to a Single object often takes 
the singular verb ; as, " The Pleasures of Memory, by Rogers, 
is an admirable work." 

Note IV. — The pronoun you, even when used to denote an 
individual, inasmuch as its form is plural, should have a plural 
verb: "The account you were pleased to send me," not "the 
account you was pleased to send me." 



582 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note Y. — A verb in the third person may have as its subject 
a sentence, or the clause of a sentence, or a verb in the infini- 
tive mode, or any part of speech used as a noun ; as, "To at- 
tack vices in the abstract, without touching' persons, may be 
safe fighting indeed, but it is fighting with shadows ;" "To see 
is desirable ;" "Red and green are different colors ;" " Once is 
too often ;" " Over is not under;" "An if ruins the case ;" "Ah! 
is an interjection." "We have here a part of a sentence, a verb 
in the infinitive mode, an adjective, an adverb, a preposition, a 
conjunction, and an interjection, used as substantives, and each 
the subject of a verb. 

Note YI. — There is one phrase in present use in which the 
personal pronoun me precedes a verb in the third person : me- 
thinks, methought. Anciently, him was used in the same man- 
ner ; as, Him thuhte, him thought. Him and me are here in 
the Anglo-Saxon dative case. Me thinks =it seems to me = 
mihi videtur. 

Note YII. — In poetry, the verb may stand without a nomin- 
ative in cases where in prose the omission would be improper ; 
as " Lives there who loves his pain?" — Milton. That is, lives 
there a man who loves his pain ? 

Note YIIL — The verbs need and want are sometimes em- 
ployed without a nominative, either express or implied ; as, 
" There is no evidence of the fact, and there needs none ;" 
" There wanted champions to espouse her cause." For the 
force of there, see § 451. 

Note IX. — Yerbs in the Imperative mode generally agree with 
the pronouns thou, ye, or you expressed or understood ; as, Love 
{thou) ; read ye or you. A verb in .the Imperative mode is 
sometimes used Absolutely, having no direct reference to any 
particular subject addressed ; as, " Gfod said, Let there be light, 
and there was light." — Gen., i., 3. 

Note X. — A verb following the conjunction than sometimes 
stands without a nominative expressed ; as, " Not that any thing 
occurs in consequence of our late loss more afflictive than was 
to be expected." — Life of Cowper, Letter 62. Forms of ex- 
pression like this seem to be elliptical: "More afflictive than 
that which was to be expected." 

Note XI. — The verb is in some cases understood ; as, " The 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 5Q3 

combat deepens — on, ye brave !" Here rush or press is under- 
stood before on. 

Note XII. — The same form of the verb, whether simple, pro- 
gressive, or emphatic, should be preserved throughout the sen- 
tence ; as, " The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away ;" 
"That man loves his friends and hates his enemies;" "He 
tv as ivriting and he is writing f "He did love and he does 
love." 

EXERCISES IN THE SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 

Rule XXIV. — a. A bee among the flowers of spring is one of 
the most cheerful objects that can be looked upon. C. S. 

b. The Normans, under which general term is comprehended 
the Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes, were accustomed to rapine 
and slaughter. F. S. 

c. Thinks I to myself, He will know better when he is older. 
F.S. 

d. "What signifies good opinions, unless they are attended by 
good conduct ? F. S. 

Note I. — a. Moneys is your suit. 

What shonid I say to you 1 F. S. 

b. In the wilderness locusts were his meat. C. S. 

Note II. — a. As to his person, he is all head and shoulders. 
C.S. 

b. In Federal money a dime is ten cents. C. S. 

Note III. — The Pleasures of the Imagination, by Akenside, is 
a highly philosophical poem. C. S. 

Note IY. — a. I came to see you because I knew you was my 
old master's friend. F. S. 

b. I recollect you was his advocate in that important trial. 
F.S. 

Note V. — a. Early to bed and early to rise, 

Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. C. S. 

b. Read, read, rang through the air morning, noon, and night, 
like the muezzins' call to prayer from the tops of their gilded 
minarets. — Nuces Philosophicce, p. 484. C. S. 

c. That warm climates should accelerate the growth of the 
human body, and shorten its duration, is very reasonable to be- 
lieve. C. S. 



584 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

d. "I can not do it" never accomplished any thing; "I will 
try" has wrought wonders. — Hawes. 

e. For a lady to conduct herself in this manner is disgraceful. 
C. S. 

Note VI.' — Methinks already I your tears survey. C. S. 

Note VII. — There have heen that have delivered themselves 
from their ills by their good fortune or their virtue. F. S. 

Note VIII. — There needed a new dispensation of religion for 
the moral reform of society. C. S. 

Note IX. — The expense amounted to, say five dollars. C. S. 

Note X. — He felt himself addicted to philosophical specula- 
tions with more ardor than consisted well with the duties of a 
Roman and a senator. C. S. 

Note XI. — a. Charge, Chester, charge! on, Stanley, on! C. S. 

b. Once more unto the breach, my friends, once more, 

Or close the wall up with our English dead. C. S. 

Note XII. — He was writing, and he does now write. F. S. 

THE VERB. 

§ 507. Rule XXV. — "When a verb has two or more subjects 
in the singular number, joined by the copulative and, it must 
agree with them in the plural number ; as, " Reason and truth 
constitute intellectual gold." Instead of saying reason consti- 
tutes intellectual gold, truth constitutes intellectual gold, the 
two propositions are united in one compound sentence. The 
conjunction is sometimes understood; as, "Honor, justice, re- 
ligion itself, were derided." 

Note I. — This rule has in the practice of writers some excep- 
tions : " Nor were the young fellows so wholly lost to a sense of 
right, as pride and self-conceit has made them affect to be." — 
Rambler, No. 97. Here the verb, which is expressed after self- 
conceit, is considered as understood sitter pride. " Their safety 
and welfare is most concerned." - — Spectator, No. 121. This 
was sometimes the case in Greek and Roman writers : "Mens 
enim et ratio, et consilium in senibus est." — Cicero, De Sen., 
cap. xix. Forms of expression like these should not be encour- 
aged in the English language, though they can be defended, in 
some instances, on the ground of their expressing only one com- 
plex idea. 



ft 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 535 

Note II. — Two or more nouns connected by the conjunction 
and, expressed or understood, and modified by the distributives 
each, every, or either, may have a verb in the singular num- 
ber : " Either sex and every age was engaged in the pursuits 
of industry." — Gibbon's Roman Empire, chap. x. " The ju- 
dicial and every other power is accountable to the legislative." 
— Paley's Philosophy, vi., 8. 

Note III. — Where comparison is expressed or implied, and 
not combination, the verb should be singular ; thus, " Caesar as 
well as Cicero was remarkable for eloquence." Even when and 
is used between two nouns, if a disuniting word is used with it, 
the verb should be in the singular number ; as, " Grood order, 
and not mean savings, produces honest profit." 

Note IY. — "When a verb comes in between its nominatives, it 
agrees with that which precedes it, and is understood as to the 
others; as, "John ivas present, and Henry, and Charles." 

Note Y. — When two nouns connected by the conjunction and 
express but one subject, the verb should be in the singular num- 
ber ; as, " That great statesman and general is entitled to the 
gratitude of his country." 

Note YL — When nominatives to the same verb are of differ- 
ent persons, the verb must be in the plural number, and must 
agree with the first person rather than the second, and with the 
second rather than the third : " My sister and I are daily em- 
ployed in our respective occupations." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXV. 

Rule XXY. — a. Religion and virtue, our best support and 
highest honor, confers on the mind principles of noble independ- 
ence. F. S. 

b. There is as much real religion and morality in this country 
as in any other. F. S. 

c. Wisdom, virtue, happiness, dwells with the golden medi- 
ocrity. F. S. 

Note I. — a. In that transaction their safety and welfare is 
most concerned. F. S. 

b. The fragrant woodbine and the sweet-scented myrtle ren- 
ders the air in this spot truly delicious. F. S. 

Note II. — In the camp of Israel every man and every woman 
were numbered. F. S. 



586 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note III. — a. That superficial scholar and critic, like some 
renowned critics of our own, have furnished most decisive proofs 
that they knew not the characters of the Hebrew language. F. S. 

b. Virtuous effort, and not depraved genius, win the prize. F. S. 

Note IV. Forth in the pleasing spring 

Thy beauty walks, thy tenderness and love. — Thomson. C.S. 

Note V. — Coleridge, that distinguished philosopher and cele- 
brated poet, are receiving the meed of praise. F. S. 

Note VI. — You and the doctor thinks unfavorably of my case. 
F.S. 

THE VERB. 

§ 508. Kule XXVI. — When a verb has for its subject only 
one of two or more substantives singular, connected by the con- 
junctions or or nor, it is itself in the singular number ; as, 
" Either John, or Peter, or James ivas at the Exchange yester- 
day, but neither John nor Peter is there to-day." 

Note I. — When a verb has nominatives of different persons 
connected by the disjunctive conjunctions or or nor, it must 
agree with that which is nearest ; as, " Neither you nor I am 
concerned." 

Note II. — When a verb has a Singular and a Plural nomina- 
tive connected by or or nor, it agrees with its nearest nomina- 
tive ; as, " The dice-box or his cups were his ruin." 

Note III. — In sentences where there is but one proposition, 
when two or more subjects of different persons are in apposition, 
the verb agrees with the first of them ; as, " I, your master, 
command you ;" " Your master, I, commands you." The idea 
that comes first is the leading idea, and controls the construction 
of the verb. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXVI. 

Rule XXVI. — a. There are many faults in spelling which 
neither analogy nor pronunciation justify. F. S. 

b. When sickness, infirmity, or reverse of fortune affect us, 
the sincerity of friendship is proved. F. S. 

Note I. — I or thou am the person who must undertake the 
business proposed. F. S. 

Note II. — a. For the consequences of this transaction he or 
they is responsible. F. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 587 

b. The cares of this life, or the deceitfulness of riches, has 
choked the seeds of virtue in many a promising mind. F. S. 
Note III. — Your father, I, loves you ; I, your father, love you. 

C. S. 

THE VERB. 

§ 509. Rule XXYII. — "When a verb has for .its subject a 
Collective noun, it can agree with it either in the Singular or 
the Plural number ; as, " The council is or are unanimous ;" 
" The company was or were collected ;" " A part of the exports 
consists or consist of raw silk." 

Note I. — When the collective noun indicates unity, a Singu- 
lar verb should be used ; when it indicates plurality, a Plural 
verb should be used. In general, modern practice inclines to 
the use of a plural verb, especially when persons and not things 
are signified by the collective noun ; as, " The clergy began to 
withdraw themselves from the temporal courts." — Blackstone. 
" The chorus prepare resistance at his first approach ; the cho- 
rus sings of the battle." — Johnson's Life of Milton. 

Note II. — The most common mistakes in the application of 
this rule occur in the use of sort and kind, with a plural pro- 
noun; as, "These sort are good;" "those kind are bad;" for 
this sort, that kind. 

"When a collective noun is preceded by a definitive which 
clearly limits the sense of the word to the idea of unity, it re- 
quires a verb and a pronoun to agree with it in the singular 
number ; as, " A company of troops was raised ;" " This people 
has become a great nation." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE. XXVII. 

Rule XXVII. — a. An army was led through the wilderness 
against him. C. S. 

b. After the battle the army were scattered through the prov- 
inces. C. S. 

c. The committee has at length brought in a report. C. S. 

d. The committee were divided in their opinions. C. S. 
Note I. — a. The court, after long delays, have passed sentence 

on the criminal. F. S. 

b. A herd of cattle peacefully grazing afford a pleasing sight. 
F.S. 



588 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

c. That assembly thus convened were numerous. F. S. 
Note II. — a. Those kind of indulgences soften and injure the 
mind. F. S. 

b. This sort of wheat is the best. C. S. 

COLLOCATION. 

§ 510. The Subject or Nominative usually precedes the verb 
in declaratory phrases ; as, "God created the world." 

Exception 1. The nominative often follows an intransitive 
verb ; for as such a verb has no object after it, that position of 
the nominative creates no ambiguity: " Above it stood the Ser- 
aphim." 

Exc. 2. The nominative may follow the verb when the verb 
is preceded by here, there, hence, thence, then, thus, yet, so, 
nor, neither, such, the same, herein, therein, zoherein, and per- 
haps other words ; as, "Here are five men ;" " There was a man 
sent from God." 

Exc. 3. The nominative may follow the verb in the expres- 
sion of commands, requests, wishes ; as, " Long live the king." 

Exc. 4. The nominative may follow the verb when an em- 
phatical adjective introduces the sentence; as, "Great is the 
Lord, glorious are his works, and happy is the man who serves 
him." 

Exc. 5. In certain phrases which are conditional or hypothet- 
ical, the sign of the condition may be omitted, and the nomina- 
tive placed after the auxiliary ; as, "Did he but know my anx- 
iety." 

Exc. 6. The nominative may follow the verb when the words 
whose, his, their, her, mine, your, &c, precede the verb with a 
governing word ; as, " Out of ivhose modifications have been 
made most complex modes." 

Exc. 7. In interrogative sentences the nominative follows the 
verb when alone, or the first auxiliary ; as, "Believest thou ?" 
" Will he consent ?" 

Exc. 8. When an infinitive mode or a sentence is the nomina- 
tive case to the verb, it generally follows the verb, the pronoun 
it standing as its representative before the verb ; as, "It is dif- 
ficult to climb the hill of science." 

Exc. 9. In poetry, the subject often follows the verb ; as, 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 589 

" Far along, 
From peak to peak the rattling crags among, 
Leaps the live thunder." — Byron. 

GOVERNMENT OF VERBS. 

§ 511. Rule XXVIII. — Transitive verbs govern the objective 
case ; as, " Grod created the ivorld;" "We honor him." 

In order to govern the objective case, a verb must signify an 
action affecting an object, and if there be no such object, there 
is no room for any Objective Government. 

Besides this, there is what is called Modal Government, and 
certain verbs employed in this government are called modal verbs. 

Note I. — Modal verbs are, in some instances, Traditive ; as, 
"I give the book to you." Here we have the objective case in 
the government of the word book, and what in Latin is called 
the dative case in the government of the word you. The word 
give and a few others govern the dative case. The phrases give 
it him ; whom shall I give it ? are perfectly correct, and do 
not require a preposition; as, Give it to him; to whom shall I 
give it? In these instances, you, him, and whom are the Trad- 
itive object. 

Note II. — Modal verbs are, in some instances, Instrumental ; 
as, I struck him with a cane. Here we have the objective case 
in the government of the word him, and what is called in the 
Latin the ablative case in the government of the word cane. 

Note III. — Modal verbs are, in some instances, Emphatic ; as, 
"He sleeps the sleep of the righteous." Here the noun is of 
the same signification as the verb, which does not express an 
action affecting the noun. The noun only repeats the idea ex- 
pressed by the verb, and thus renders it emphatic. 

Note IV. — Modal verbs are in some instances Factitive ; as, 
"They made Napoleon an emperor;" "They crowned him a 
poet;" "He thinks himself a gentleman" Here a change is 
produced in the immediate object, converting it into something 
that it was not before. Napoleon, him, himself, the suffering 
objects, are severally changed into the factitive objects emperor, 
poet, gentleman. 

Note V. — The Partitive Construction. Certain Transitive 
verbs, the action whereof is extended, not to the whole, but only 



590 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

to a part of their object, are followed by the preposition of, and 
are in the objective case : To eat of the fruit of the tree = to 
eat a part of the fruit of the tree ; to drink of the water of 
the well = to drink a part (or some) of the water of the well. 
The construction is a construction that has grown out of the 
partitive power of the genitive case, of which case the preposi- 
tion of serves as an equivalent. — Latham. 

Note VI. — Transitive verbs admit of a sentence, a clause, or 
a number of words as their object; as, " He is not alarmed so 
far as to consider how much nearer he approaches his endP 
Here the force of the transitive verb consider falls on the follow- 
ing clause. " If he escapes being banished by others, I fear he 
will banish himself." Here being banished stands in the place 
of a noun, as the object of the transitive verb escapes, 

" Coriolanus. Shall remain % 
Hear you this Triton of the minnows 1 Mark you 
His absolute shall?" 

Here shall, a verb, being used simply as a word, is in the ob- 
jective case, after hear. 

Note VII. — Some transitive verbs govern two nouns in the 
objective case when in the active form, and one when in the 
passive ; as, " They asked him a question ;" " They taught him 
logic." Cases like these are different from those mentioned un- 
der note fourth, and they are not all of them embraced under 
note first. See § 486. 

Note VIII. — Some transitive verbs stand without their com- 
plementary objective case after them; as, "He reads; 11 "he 
writes /" for " He reads books ;" "he writes letters." 

Note IX. — Transitive verbs are sometimes improperly used as 
Intransitive verbs ; as, "I must premise with three circum- 
stances," for " I premise three circumstances ;" " Let us con- 
sider of the works of art," for " let us consider the works of art." 
Transitive verbs are not followed by prepositions. 

Note X. — Intransitive verbs are sometimes improperly used as 
Transitive verbs ; as, "If Jove this arm succeed;" "He repent- 
ed him of his design." 

Note XL — Certain Intransitive verbs are followed by nouns 
kindred to them in signification ; as, " To sleep the sleep of 
death." See § 486. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 591 

Nearly allied to this idiom is that of using after verbs Trans- 
itive or Intransitive certain nouns which are not the objects of 
the verb, nor of precisely the same sense; as, "The lump of 
gold weighs two ounces;" " The cloth measures three yards;" 
" Grrin a ghastly smile.'''' Some verbs of this sort are followed 
by two objects : " The hat cost him five dollars." 

Note XII. — There are some verbs which may be used Trans- 
itively or Intransitively ; as, "I shall do the business ;" "I 
shall do as I promised." 

The Objective after a verb in the active voice becomes the 
Nominative before the verb in the passive voice. The nomina- 
tive before the verb in the active voice is joined to the passive 
verb by the preposition by: " Csesar conquered Pompey at Phar- 
salia ;" "Pompey was conquered by Ccesar at Pharsalia." 

Note XIII. — Idiomatic expressions sometimes occur, in which 
the active form of the transitive verb is used in a sense nearly 
allied to the passive ; as, " The goods sell rapidly ;" "the cloth 
tears;" "the ground plows well." 

COLLOCATION. 

§ 512. As a general rule, the verb precedes the word which it 
governs. 

Sometimes the verb comes after the objective case ; as, " She 
with extended arms his aid implores ;" "Whom ye ignorantly 
worship, him declare I unto you." Whom and wliich always 
precede the verb. A noun with whatever, whatsoever, or which- 
soever preceding it, is placed before the governing verb; as, 
" Whatsoever positive ideas we have." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXVIII. 
GOVERNMENT OF VERBS. 

Rule XXVIII. — a. The man who he raised from obscurity is 
dead. F. S. 

b. We never know the true value of friends. While they live 
we are too sensitive of their faults ; when we have lost them we 
only see their virtues. C. S. 

c. Few persons exert their ability to the utmost to do all the 
good that lies in their power. C. S. 

Note I. — With some paper, I gave him a pen. C. S. 



592 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note II. — He shot the buffalo with a rifle. C. S. 

Note III. — While sleeping that night he dreamed a frightful 
dream. C. S. 

Note IY. — And they endeavored to take him by force to make 
iim a king. C. S. 

Note Y. — He ate of the fruit and was satisfied. C. S. 

Note YI. — I believe it him whom they accused. C. S. 

Note YIL — The king denied him admission to the court. C. S. 

Note VIII. — He writes frequently for Blackwood's Magazine. 
tl.S. 

Note IX. — Those that think to ingratiate with him by ca- 
lumniating me, are mistaken. F. S. 

Note X. — a. I will submit me, for submission brings peace. 
C. S. 

b. This is true power ; it approaches men to G-od." F. S. 

c. His English partialities swerved him from the straight 
path of neutrality. F. S. 

Note XI. — a. In his life he ran the race of godliness, and now 
he wears the crown of victory. C. S. 

b. A crown is a silver coin which weighs nineteen penny- 
weights. C. S. 

Note XII. — a. These victories in India swelled his fame. C. S. 

b. Provoked by the insult and the injury, he swelled with 
rage. C. S. 

Note XIII. — a. These lines from Wordsworth read well. C. S. 

b. This apple is unripe, and is not fit to eat. C. S. 

THE SUBSTANTIVE VERB. 

§ 513. Rule XXIX. — The Substantive verb am, and some 
others, admit after, them a Predicate noun in the same case as 
the Subject; as, "Virtue alone is happiness;" " Hannibal was 
a famous Carthaginian general ;" "Washington ivas, chosen 
commander-in-chief;" " He was called the arch-magician ;" 
"He will turn out a villain" 

Verbs which admit a predicate after them, whether an adjec- 
tive agreeing with the subject, or a substantive in the same case 
with the subject, have been called Copulative verbs, from the 
predominance in them of the Copulative element ; as, " I know 
not whether others share in my feelings on this point, but I have 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 593 

often thought that if I were compelled to forego England, and 
to live in China, among Chinese manners, and modes of life, and 
scenery, I should go madP — De Quincey. " He obliged the 
Nile to run bloody for your sakes." In these examples the 
whole predicate is made up of the predicate element in the verb, 
taken with the adjective. Each verb, as compared with the sub- 
stantive verb, may be viewed as a strengthened copula. The 
verbs to become, to grow, to remain, to seem, to be chosen, to 
be named, to feel, as to feel strong, and many others, belong to 
this class. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXIX. 
THE SUBSTANTIVE VERB. 

Rule XXIX. — a. Reverence and tenderness are the hallowed 
avenues through which alone true souls can come together. — H. 

J. TUCKERMAN. C. S. 

b. He declared in the Senate that Catiline was a traitor. C. S. 

c. Knowledge is the parent of love ; wisdom love itself. C. S. 

d. She walks a goddess and she moves a queen. C. S. 

e. "When knowledge was falsely called wisdom. C. S. 

/. The swan on still St. Mary's lake 

Floats double, swan and shadow. C. S. 

THE SYNTAX OF THE INFINITIVE MODE. 

§ 514. Rule XXX. — A verb in the Infinitive Mode depends 
upon a finite verb which it follows; as, "Cease to do evil; 
learn to do well ;" " His penetration and diligence seemed to vie 
with each other." 

Note I. — Besides entering thus into construction in depend- 
ence upon another verb, the infinitive mode also sometimes de- 
pends, a. On a Substantive ; as, " He showed an eagerness to 
learn;" b. On an Adjective; as, " He was eager to learn;" c. 
On a Pronoun ; as, "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Cae- 
sar?" d. On an Infinitive verb; as, "To make believe;" e. On 
an Adverb ; as, " He knows not hoiv to learn ;" f. On a Prepo- 
sition; as, "And he stood up for to read;" g. On a Conjunc- 
tion ; as, " An object so high as to be inaccessible." 

"When a word depends upon another, it is governed by it. 

Note II.— In the two phrases, "I love to learn," "I read to 

Pp 



594 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

learn," the Infinitive to learn, in each case, is said to be govern- 
ed by the verb which it follows, or to depend upon it ; but it is 
governed in a different sense in the one case from what it is in 
the other. J love to learn. Here the Government is Objective. 
I read to learn. Here the Government is Modal. The word 
for might be brought in according to an ancient usage, as in 
the question, " What went ye out for to see?" Instead of an 
Accusative there is a Dative relation. The real objective case 
is understood. " I read (Virgil) to learn." To learn is the In- 
finitive expressing purpose. 

Note III. — The Infinitive of the Substantive verb has the 
same case after it as before it ; as, " They supposed us to be 
them." In Interrogative sentences, both of the cases sometimes 
precede ; as, " Whom do you suppose him to be ?" 

Note IV. — Some verbs are immediately followed by an Infin- 
itive when the Object is the same as the Subject, but are fol- 
lowed by the Accusative and the Infinitive when the object is 
different ; as, " I wish to go ;" " I wish him to go." 

Note V. — Many verbs are never followed by the Infinitive 
without the Accusative, except in the passive voice ; as, " I 
advised him to do it ;" but passively, " I am advised to do it." 
In this construction the accusative may be considered as both 
the object of the finite verb and the subject of the infinitive 
mode. 

Note VI. — An Infinitive, though it often comes last in the 
sentence, is seldom or never the Predicate, except when another 
infinitive is the subject ; as, " To enjoy is to obey." 

Note VII. — The Infinitive is sometimes used absolutely ; as, 
"To confess the truth, I was not present." 

Note VIII. — The Active form of the Infinitive is often used in 
a Passive sense; as, " There is no time to waste;" "John has 
a house to sell." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXX. 
THE INFINITIVE MODE. 

Rule XXX. — a. So far, peace seems to smile upon our future 
independence. C. S. 

b. The Norman, shut out from France, began more and more 
to feel that England was his home and his sphere. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 595 

Note I. — a. Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star 
In his deep course ? C. S. 

b. In their conduct they are anxious to avoid even the ap- 
pearance of evil. C. S. 

c. It would he wrong for them to desert the cause they have 
Undertaken. C. S. 

d. To pretend to feel affection when none is felt is hypocrisy. 
C.S. 

e. They told him where to spend the night. C. S. 
/. And what went ye out for to see ? C.S. 

g. Nothing makes a man more suspicious than to know little. 
C.S. 

Note II. — a. During the whole campaign he sought to fight. 
C. S. 

b. He studied to learn his duty. C. S. 

Note III. — a. "When questioned, he declared them to he sol- 
diers. C. S. 

b. In their statements, whom do they represent me to he? 
C.S. 

Note IV. — a. I desire to learn the science of astronomy. C. S. 

b. I desire him to learn the science of astronomy. C. S. 

Note V. — They urged him to declare war. He was urged to 
declare war. C. S. 

Note VI. — Remember that to he humble is to be wise. C. S. 

Note VII. — a. To say nothing of his ignorance, he is a bad 
man. C. S. 

b. It is not once in ten attempts that you can find the case 
you seek in any law-book, to say nothing of those numerous 
points of conduct concerning which the law professes not to pre- 
scribe. C. S. 

Note VIII. — In that affair he is to blame. — C. S. 

THE INFINITIVE MODE. 

§ 515. Rule XXXI. — The verbs Bid, feel, dare, do, have, 
hear, let, make, need, see, may, can, will, shall, must, are fol- 
lowed by the Infinitive, without the preposition to; as, " I bid hei' 
alight;" " I make him go ;" "I feel the pain abate;" "I saw 
him fall;" "We heard him say ;" "He let me go;" "I dare 
go;" " I need not go;" " I do go ;" " Would they have us go ?" 



596 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

"I may go;" "I can go;" "I will go;" "I shall go;" "I 
must go" Some other verbs are sometimes in the same con- 
struction ; as, Observe, perceive, know, help. The to is sel- 
dom or never omitted after the perfect participle used passively ; 
as, "We are hidden to rest;" "he was seen to move." To this 
let forms an exception. 

Note I. — Bid, in the sense of command, usually is followed 
by an object and the infinitive without the preposition to ; as, 
"Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee on the water." In 
the sense of promise, it is followed by an infinitive with the 
preposition; as, " He bids fair to make an able statesman." 

Note II. — Dare, used Intransitively, is followed by an infin- 
itive without the preposition; as, "I dare do all that may be- 
come a man." Dare, Transitive, is followed by the preposition 
to; as, " I dare you to do it." 

Note III. — Feel, used Transitively, is followed by an object 
and the infinitive without the preposition ; as, " I feel it move" 
When used Intransitively, the infinitive has the preposition ; as, 
" I felt afraid to speak." 

Note IY. — Need, when Transitive, is regular in its inflec- 
tions ; but when Intransitive, it drops the personal terminations 
in the present tense, is formed like the auxiliaries, and followed 
by the verb without the prefix to; as, "I need not go any fur- 
ther ;" " She need dig no more." — Spectator, No. 121. "He 
need not urge this honorable court." To this there are excep- 
tions: as, 

" Vice is a monster of so frightful mieii, 
That to be hated needs but to be seen." — Pope. 

In the use of this verb there is another irregularity which is 
peculiar, the verb being without a nominative expressed or im- 
plied : "Whereof here needs no account." — Milton's Paradise 
Lost, iv., 235. " There is no evidence of the fact, and there 
needs none." 

Note Y. — Make, in the language of Scripture, is followed by 
to ; as, " He maketh his sun to rise." Sometimes the verb be is 
introduced after the verb make, while the preposition to is sup- 
pressed; as, " He is careful to make every word be heard." 

Note YI. — Have, signifying possession or obligation, is gen- 
erally followed by to; as, " I had to do this." When it implies 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. ' 597 

volition, to is generally omitted ; as, " Would you have us reject 
such an offer ?" And yet we find, " Him would Paul have to 
go forth with him." See § 335. The Infinitive present stand- 
ing after have, in some cases expresses a duty, or task, or ne- 
cessity ; as, "I have to work for my bread." 

When an Infinitive clause follows a transitive verb, the pro- 
noun it is often placed immediately after the verb, and the in- 
finitive placed in apposition to it ; as, " I found it to no purpose 
to lay much stress on those texts that are usually alleged on 
the occasion" 

The Infinitive Mode is used to express necessity or obligation ; 
as, " That event is never to be for gotten ;" " That loss is great- 
ly to be deplored" 

The construction of English Infinitives is twofold: 1. Object- 
ive ; 2. GrERUNDIAL. 

When one verb is followed by another without the preposition 
to, the construction must be considered to have grown out of 
the objective case, or from the form in -an. This in the present 
English is the rarer of the two constructions. See § 335. 

When a verb is followed by another, preceded by the preposi- 
tion to, the construction must be considered to have grown out 
of the so-called Grerund, that is, the form in -nne, i. e., the Da- 
tive case : I begin to move. This is the construction with the 
great majority of English verbs. — Latham. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXI. 

Rule XXXI, Note I. — a. After the fatigues of the day, night 
bids us rest. C. S. 

b. He bids fair to be an eminent scholar. C. S. 

Note II. — a. They dared do all their duty. C. S. 

b. At that meeting he dared them to fight. C. S. 

Note III.— a. I felt the pulse beat. C. S. 

b. I felt afraid to stir. C. S. 

Note IV.' — a. They need but to see the work in order to be 
satisfied. C. S. 

b. He need not beg, for he is able to work. C. S. 

Note V. — He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. C. S. 

Note VI. — a. He has to study half of the night to get his les- 
son. C. S. 



598 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

b. They would have us refuse the invitation which has been 
so courteously given. C. S. 

THE INFINITIVE MODE. 

§ 516. Rule XXXII. — As the Infinitive Mode is the Noun of 
the verb, nomen verbi, it generally performs, in construction, 
the offices of a noun. 

a. It is used as the Subject or nominative of a verb ; as, " To 
sleep is refreshing." 

b. It is put in the Objective case after a Transitive verb or a 
preposition; as, "He loves to fight ;" "What went ye out for 
to see ?" 

c. It can have an Adjective qualifying it ; as, "To err is hu- 
man." 

d. It can be substituted for a Noun ; as, " To forgive is di- 
vine = forgiveness is divine." 

"When we say that a verb in the Infinitive Mode may perform 
the functions of a noun, we only say that the name of any ac- 
tion may be used without any mention of an agent. Thus we 
speak of the simple fact of walking or moving, independently 
of any specification of the walker or the mover. "When actions 
are thus spoken of independently, the idea of Person and Num- 
ber has no place in the conception ; from which it follows that 
the so-called infinitive mode must be at once impersonal and 
without the distinction of number. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXII. 

Rule XXXII. — a. In this life, to suffer is the destiny of man. 
C. S. 

a. To reveal its complacence by gifts is one of the native di- 
alects of love. C. S. 

b. That pupil evidently desires to learn. C. S. 

b. Not for to hide it in a hedge, 

Or for a train attendant. — Burns. C. S. 

c. To see is delightful. C. S. 

c. To be blind is calamitous. C. S. 

d. To think is an attribute of man = thought is an attribute 
of man. C. S. 

d. To weep and to mourn may be your destiny = weeping and 
mourning may be your destiny. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 599 

THE IMPERATIVE MODE. 

§ 517. Rule XXXIII. — Forms in the Imperative Mode have 
in English three peculiarities : 

1. They have a simple form for the second person ; as, " Love 
thou ;" the third being expressed by a circumlocution ; as, " Let 
him love." 2. They take pronouns after instead of before them ; 
as, in the example given, " Love thou." 3. They often omit 
the pronoun altogether ; as, " Love." 

Passion goes at once to its object, assuming it as the conse- 
quence of an indirect assertion. Thus, if the fact be that I de- 
sire that a person should go to any place, it is not necessary for 
me to state my desire in the indicative mode, and his going in 
the infinitive, or subjunctive, or potential : " I desire you to go ;" 
or, " I desire that you go ;" or, "I desire that you should go ;" 
but, by the natural impulse of my feelings, I say, "Go!" Now 
this mode, from its frequent use in giving commands to infe- 
riors, has been called the Imperative. Under this general term 
may be included not only a command; as, " Let there be light," 
but also a wish expressed; as, "Let confusion live;" and a 
prayer offered ; as, " Help me, Lysander, help me ;" and a. per- 
mission given ; as, " Go, but be moderate in your food." In all 
of them the assertion of desire on the part of the speaker is clear- 
ly implied. The sense is, "I command that there be light ;" 
" I wish that confusion may prevail;" "I pray you to help me ;" 
" I permit you to go." 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXIII. 
THE IMPERATIVE MODE. 

Rule XXXIII. — a. Attend, thou son of earth, to my instruc- 
tions. C. S. 

b. But, in order to understand this subject, let us turn the 
tables on the objector. C. S. 

c. Read, but do not devour books. Compare your informa- 
tion ; digest it. In short, according to the proverb, " Make 
haste slowly." — John Randolph. C. S. 

d. Live with your century, but be not its creature ; bestow 
upon your contemporaries not what they praise, but what they 
need. C. S. 



600 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

e. Let them laugh who win. C. S. 

/. Rouse not, I beseech you, a peace-loving, but a resolute 
people ; alienate not from your body the affections of a whole 
empire. C. S. 

THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

§ 518. Rule XXXIV. — In conditional expressions, which im- 
ply both doubt and futurity, the Subjunctive Mode generally 
follows the conjunction which expresses the condition ; as, "If 
thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him ; and if he repent, 
forgive him ;" " Though he were dead, yet shall he live again." 

Note I. — The sign of the condition is sometimes omitted ; as, 
" Were he to read hard for the next six months, he would prob- 
ably be admitted to the bar." 

It must be remembered, however, that conjunctions like those 
quoted above do not govern the Subjunctive Mode because they 
are conditional, but because, in the particular condition which 
they accompany, there is an element of uncertainty. See § 334. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXIV. 
THE SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

Rule XXXIY. — a. With whom, if he come shortly, I will see 
you. C. S. 

b. Except I be by Silvia in the night, there is no music in 
the nightingale." C. S. 

c. Revenge back on itself recoils ; 

Let it ; I reck not, so it light well aimed. C. S. 

d. They deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with 
nails and hammers, that it move not. C. S. 

e. If this be law (which it is for you this day to decide), such 
a man has no trial. C. S. 

Note I.' — a. Were he to confess his fault, he would be for- 
given. C. S. 

b. Were he ten times the villain that he is, he would still find 
supporters. C. S. 

c. Were death denied, poor man would live in vain ; 
Were death denied, to him would not be life ; 

"Were death denied, even fools would wish to die. — Yoitng. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 601 

SYNTAX OF TENSES. 

§ 519. Rule XXXV. — To express the different relations of 
Time, the appropriate tenses of the verb should be carefully em- 
ployed. See § 325. 

1. The Past improperly used for the Present Tense : " A 
stranger to the poem would not easily discover that this was (is) 
verse ;" " He announced to the world that air was (is) elastic." 

2. The Present Perfect improperly used for the Past : " The 
Lord hath given (gave) and the Lord hath taken away;" "I 
have seen (saw) the coronation at Westminster last summer." 

3. The Present improperly used for the Present Perfect : 
" They continue (have continued) with me three days." 

4. The Past improperly used for the Past Perfect : " They ar- 
rived (had arrived) before we reached the city." 

5. The Future improperly used for the Future Perfect : " The 
workmen will finish (will have finished) the business at mid- 
summer." 

6. The Present Perfect improperly used for the Present : " All 
the present family have been (are) much indebted to their great 
and honorable ancestor." 

7. The Past" improperly used for the Present Perfect: " This' 
curious piece of workmanship was preserved and shown (has 
been preserved and shown) to strangers for more than fifty 
years." 

8. The auxiliary should is improperly used for would ; as, 
" On the morrow, because he should have known (would know) 
the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews." 

9. The Indicative Present is correctly used after the words 
when, till, before, as soon as, after, to express the relative time 
of a Future action ; as, "When the mail arrives he will come." 

10. The Infinitive Present Perfect is incorrectly used for the 
Present ; as, " The last work I intended to have written (to 
write)." 

11. When a verb in the Present Perfect tense is preceded by 
when, as soon as, before, till, or after, it performs the office of 
the Future Perfect ; as, " Before he has been there, I shall ar- 
rive," 

" There is something peculiar in the use of the Preterit tense. 



602 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Take the following case : A servant calls on me for a "book ; if 
I am uncertain whether I have it or not, I answer, ' If the hook 
be in my library, or if I have the hook, your master is welcome 
to it ;' hut if I am certain that I have not the hook, I say, ' If 
the hook were in my library, or if I had the hook, it should he 
at your master's service.' Here it is ohvious that when we use 
the Present tense it implies uncertainty of the fact, and when 
we use the Preterit it implies a negation of its existence. Thus, 
also, a person at night would say to his friend, l If it rain you 
shall not go,' heing uncertain at the time whether it did or did 
not rain ; hut if, on looking out, he perceived it did not rain, he 
would then say, i If it rained you should not go,' intimating 
that it did not rain." — Webster's Dissertations, p. 263 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXV. 

THE TENSES. 

.Rule XXXV. — 1. a. If my readers will turn their thoughts 
hack on their old friends, they will find it difficult to call a sin- 
gle man to remembrance who appeared to know that life was 
short till he was about to lose it. F. S. % 

b. A cursory perusal would not enable you to discover that 
this was a poem. F. S. 

2. I assure you I have seen the king last summer. F. S. 

3. I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue 
with me three days. F. S. 

4. He that was dead sat up and began to speak. F. S. 

5. John will earn his wages when his service is completed. 
F. S. 

6. I have now been writing to my friend whom I wish to see. 
F. S. 

7. This relic was carefully preserved these ten years. F. S. 

8. Because he should have known the reason of his condem- 
nation, he made the inquiry. F. S. 

9. I shall wait in New York until my friend comes. C. S. 

10. a. I intended last year to have visited you. F. S. 
b. I expected to have plowed my land last week. F. S. 

11. As soon as he comes I will invite him home. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. gQ3 



SYNTAX OF PARTICIPLES. 

§ 520. Utile XXXVI.— The Present, the Past, and the Com- 
pound Participles of Transitive and of Intransitive verbs, like ad- 
jectives, belong to substantives ; as, "He, watching- the com- 
ing storm, prepared to meet it ;" " The risen sun has scattered 
the collected clouds ;" " Having- slept during the night, the 
traveler went on his way." When used in this way, the parti- 
ciple is an adjective, expressing an attribute, though it differs 
from the adjective in expressing time. 

Like adjectives, participles belong to sentences and parts of 
sentences. A participle with the prefix un often becomes an ad- 
jective ; as, unbidden. If the verb also has the prefix, the par- 
ticiple retains the quality of a verb, instead of becoming an ad- 
jective ; as, unfolding, from unfold. Many words originally 
participles have in use become adjectives ; as, " Writing paper ;" 
" looking glass." 

Note I.— The Present and the Compound participles of Trans- 
itive verbs in the active voice govern the objective case ; as, " He 
was striking him;" "Having struck him, he proceeded to other 
acts of violence." In cases like these, the participle performs 
one of the offices of the verb, as well as that of an adjective. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXVI. 
PARTICIPLES. 

Rule XXXVI. — a. He, loving his work, performed it success- 
fully. C. S. 

b. Loved and admired by his friends, he fell a sacrifice to in- 
ordinate ambition. C. S. 

c. Having lost his health, he was obliged to relinquish his 
profession. C. S. 

d. Rasing, like Shakspeare's pirate, the eighth commandment 
from the Decalogue, the minstrels praised their chieftains for 
the very exploits against which the laws of the country de- 
nounced a capital doom. — Walter Scott. C. S. 

Note I. — a. Esteeming themselves wise, they become fools. 
C.S. 

b. After defeating his army, he took possession of the king- 
dom. C. S. 



604 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

c. Having studied law at Litchfield, he devoted himself to 
his profession in his native state. C. S. 

PARTICIPLES. 

§ 521. Rule XXXVII.*— The Present and the Compound Par- 
ticiples of Transitive and of Intransitive verbs, like nouns, are 
put in the Nominative case, or in the Objective case, or govern 
the Possessive case ; as, " The reading of the report occupied 
an hour;" "Writing- requires more effort than talking;" "Its 
excesses may be restrained without destroying its existence ;" 
" He was displeased with the king's having disposed of the of- 
fice, or with his having bestowed it upon an unworthy man;" 
" This did not prevent John's being acknowledged and solemn- 
ly inaugurated Duke of Normandy." 

When the present participle is preceded by a or the, it always 
takes the character of a Noun, and is generally followed by the 
preposition of; as, " "We are expecting a rising o/the people ;" 
" The middle station of life seems to be advantageously situated 
for the gaining of wisdom." 

Without the article preceding it, this participle becomes a 
noun in certain constructions ; as, "Rising early is healthy ;" 
" This is the advantage of early rising." 

The forms by sending them, by the sending of them, are 
preferable to the forms by sending of them, by the sending 
them ; though these latter are frequently met with in the lan- 
guage. 

The form ivhat do you think of my horse' 's running to-day ? 
is a correct form of expression, rather than the form ivhat do 
you think of my horse running to-day ? 

Note I. — The present participles of Transitive verbs are not 
unfrequently used in a Passive sense ; as, " The nation had cried 
out loudly against the crime while it was committing." — Bol- 
ingbroke on History, Letter 8. " My Lives are reprinting" 
— Dr. Johnson. " The house is building." 

If we use the phrase " the house is building," we speak of it 
as a thing, from its very nature, not acting itself, and we use 
the term building as expressive of a passive progressive condi- 
tion of the house. If we say the " men are building," we then 
have active instruments, and the term building is an active 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 605 

participle, requiring to be followed by a noun ; as, " Building a 
wall, a castle." 

Expressions like the following have for some years been steal- 
ing into the language : " While the house was being 1 burned" 
instead of "while the house was burning;" "while the battle 
was being fought," instead of " while the battle was fought." 
Some expressions like these are awkward, and difficult to be 
dealt with. Is it not better to say, " He will find the house will 
be building" than to say, " He will find life house will be be- 
ing built?" Is it not better to say, "I knew the house to be 
building" than to say, " I knew the house to be being built ?" 

These expressions are not yet sanctioned by the highest au- 
thority. Oh the other hand, the best writers of the present time 
use expressions like " is making," " is doing," instead of " is be- 
ing made," " is being done." The analogous use of verbs in the 
active form with a passive meaning we have in the following 
expressions : " The verses you sent me read well ;" " you will 
easily find a house to let" See § 511. 

Note II. — A participle is sometimes used absolutely, with- 
out any noun, pronoun, or sentence on which it depends ; as, 
"It is not possible to act otherwise, considering the weakness 
of our nature ;" u Generally speaking, the heir at law is not 
bound by the will of the testator." 

Note III. — The Past participle and the Preterit are sometimes 
indiscriminately used : Thus, begun is improperly used for the 
preterit began, and the preterit spoke is improperly used for the 
past participle spoken. 

EXERCISES UNDER RULE XXXVII. 
PARTICIPLES. 

Rule XXXYII. — a. Ambition often puts men upon doing the 
meanest offices : so climbing is performed in the same posture 
as creeping. — Swift. C. S. 

b. The enjoying of the goods of fortune is more coveted than 
the winning of them. C. S. 

c. The public were dissatisfied with the President for having 
bestowed offices upon mere party grounds. C. S. 

d. The period of Napoleon's leading an army into Italy has 
already been described. C. S. 



606 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

e. The stoical scheme of supplying our wants "by lopping off 
our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes. 
C. S. 

Note I. — a. When in New York, I saw Trinity Church while 
it was building. C. S. 

b. In three months from this date the City Hall will "be "be- 
ing built. F. S. 

c. The house has been being built for nine months. F. S. 
Note II. — a. The articles of this charge, considering by whom 

it was brought, were not of so high a nature as was to be expect- 
ed. C. S. 

b. Speaking generally of that generation of authors, it may 
be said that, as poets, they had no force or greatness of fancy, 
no pathos, no enthusiasm ; and as philosophers, no comprehen- 
siveness, depth, or originality.' — Lord Jeffrey. C. S. 

Note III. — a. From liberty each noble science sprung, 

A Bacon brightened and a Spenser sung. F. S. 

b. Philosophers have often mistook the true source of happi- 
ness. C. S. 

CERTAIN USES OF THE VERB. 

§ 522. 1. He is drinking, indicates a Present action; he 
drinks, may indicate a habit. He drinks wine at dinner, 
means that he does so habitually ; while he is drinking wine 
at dinner, confines the act to a particular occasion. 

2. Doe st is a form which occurs when the verb is used as a 
principal ; dost, when it is used as an auxiliary : " "Which doest 
great things past finding out ;" " He loves not plays as thou dost" 

3. Don't is a contraction of do not, and not of does not. 
DonH for does not is a vulgarism. Contractions like haven* t= 
have not ; isnH = is not, should not be encouraged. 

4. Doth and hath, in the place of does and has, are some- 
times used to express solemn and tender associations, or to avoid 
the too frequent repetition of the letter s. 

5. I would rather and i" had rather are both in use. The 
first is preferable, of which Pd rather is an abbreviation. 

6. Shall and will are sometimes improperly used the one 
for the other, as, in the case of the drowning Irishman, " I will 
be drowned, and nobody shall help me." 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 607 

7. Might is improperly used for may: " The blind man said 
unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight." 

8. The Third person is improperly used for the Second : 

" Thou great First Cause least understood, 

Who all my sense confined 
To know but this, that thou art good, 

And that myself am blind ; 
Yet gave me, in this dark estate, 

To see the good from ill ; 
And, binding nature fast in fate, 

Left free the human will." 

9. Had is, in some instances, improperly omitted : "No res- 
pite was given ; but, whenever the operation ceased, the whole 
table was covered and appeared perfectly black, as if so much 
soot thrown upon it." It should be had been thrown. 

10. The form of the Third Person of the verb should not be 
changed in the same sentence : " It is for their sake that human 
law hath interposed in some countries of the world, and, by cre- 
ating and ordaining a right for them, has endeavored to make 
good the deficiency of nature." 

11. " Its tufted flowers and leafy bands 

In one continuous curve expands, 

When herb or floweret rarely smile." 

The wrong number of the verb is here used. 

12. " They deck it with silver and with gold, that it move 
not." Here an end is proposed, and the subjunctive is the prop- 
er form. 

13. " Men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul 
when he is hungry." Here an individual fact is indicated, and 
not a confirmed habit. The subjunctive is therefore used. 

14. " For these mid hours, till evening rise, 

I have at will." 

Rise, not rises, is used, because a future event is indicated. 

15. " If any of my readers has looked with so little attention 
upon the world around him." Certainty is here implied. The 
indicative mode is therefore used. 

16. "If the leg does not come off, take the turkey to your- 
self." " Madam," replied the man in black, " I don't care a 
farthing whether the leg or the wing comes off." It should be 
do and come; for the parties are disputing upon the result 



G08 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

of the lady's carving, and not upon the actual state of the tur- 
key. 

17. "To be sure" = " certainly," "indeed;" as, "Will you 
venture out in this snow-storm?" "To be sure I will." 

18. "Would is often used to express a wish; as, "I would 
there were a sword in my hand ;" " I ivould to God that you 
did reign ;" "Ye would none of my reproof." 

19. " For he must reign till he hath put all ejiemies under 
his feet." Till he have. 

20. Had is often used for would have; as, "Had he done 
this he had escaped" = he would have escaped. 

21. In familiar language, will represents the Present tense of 
the principal verb, and would the Past : 

" The isle is full of noises. 
Sometimes a thousand twanging instruments "* 
Will hum about my ears." — Shakspeare. 

" His listless length at noontide would he stretc'h." — Gray. 

22. Did is used improperly for should; as, "It were an in- 
tolerable spectacle, even to the inmates of a felon's cell, did they 
behold one of their fellows in the agonies of death." — Chalmers. 
Were ought to be replaced by ivould^and did by should. && 

23. " This dedication will serve for almost any book that has, 
is, or shall be published." It ought to be, " that has been or 
shall be published." 

24. " The Court of Chancery frequently mitigates and breaks 
the teeth of the common law." It would be better to say, " mit- 
igates the common law, and breaks the teeth of it." 

25. " Then said they unto him, what shall we do that we 
might work the works of God." Might is improperly put for 
may. 

26. " If these persons had intended to deceive, they would have 
taken care to have avoided what would expose them to the ob- 
jections of their opponents." Had and the second have should 
be omitted, and avoid be used instead of avoided. 

27. " Por they feared the people lest they should have been 
stoned." [Should be.] 

28. " Let us suppose a man convinced, notwithstanding the 
disorders of the world, that it was under the direction of an in- 
finitely perfect being." Was is improperly used for is. 



SYNTAX OF ADVERBS. 609 



CHAPTER VI. 

SYNTAX OF ADVERBS. 

§ 523. Rule XXXVIII. — Adverbs modify Verbs, Adjectives, 
and other Adverbs ; as, " He acted judiciously ;" " He is a truly 
good man ;" " He was most kindly treated." 

An Adverb, in some cases, modifies a whole Sentence, or a 
Noun, or a Preposition ; as, " Unfortunately for the lovers of an- 
tiquity, no remains of Grecian paintings have been preserved;'''' 
" Blessed be Gfod, even the Father ;" "Just below the surface." 

Note I. — Adverbs are sometimes used as Adjectives; as, 
" Will you have the goodness to look over the above statement ;" 
" call to mind that the then secretary had just come into office." 
Forms like these are not to be encouraged, though they are 
sometimes convenient. 

Note II. — Adverbs are sometimes used as Nouns; as, "He 
traveled from thence by land ;" " There are upivard of two 
thousand people present;" "Since when" = since which time; 
""Worth their while"— worth their time and pains ; "Now is 
the time"— the present is the time. 

Note III. — Certain Adjectives are used as Adverbs ; as, "Full 
well he knows the folly of his course." A question may even 
arise whether a word is an adverb or an adjective : " After life's 
fitful fever he sleeps well;" after life's fitful fever he is well. 
Is well the same part of speech in these two cases ? Most gram- 
marians would say no, some would say yes, and correctly. It 
makes a part of the predicate. See § 490. 

The termination ly was originally adjectival. At present it 
is a derivational syllable, by which we convert an adjective into 
an adverb. When, however, the adjective ends in ly, the for- 
mation is awkward. I eat my daily bread, is unexceptionable. 
" I eat my bread dailily," is exceptionable. One of two things 
must here take place : the two syllables lily are packed into 
one, or else the construction is that of an adjective deflected. 
Thus, godly is used as an adverb instead of godlily. — Latham. 

Note IV. — Adverbs of rest in a place, namely, here, there, 

0,'q 



610 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

and where, are often used instead of adverbs of motion toward 
a place, namely, hither, thither, whither, when the latter would 
be more strictly accurate ; as, " He came here," instead of " he 
came hither." In dignified language and in poetry this substi- 
tution is not so frequent. 

Note Y. — Before adverbs of motion from a place, namely, 
hence, thence, whence, the preposition from is often use/l. But 
its use is pleonastic, because hence, thence, whence are equiva- 
lent to " from this place ;" " from that place ;" " from which 
place." 

Note YI. — As to the use of the adverbs never and ever, when 
followed by so, authorities are divided, some being in favor of 
the first, as in the scriptural expression, " charm he never so 
wisely," on the ground that it is more expressive ; and some be- 
ing in favor of substituting for it the expression " charm he ever 
so wisely." Usage, at least ancient usage, justifies the scrip- 
tural expression. Grammarians, at least many of them, prefer 
the other form, and to this modern usage inclines, though with- 
out any strong reason in its favor. Either form is correct. 

Note VII. — Here, there, and where, formerly denoting 
place, have now a more extensive application corresponding with 
their pronominal derivation, here having the force of this or 
these ; there the force of that or those ; and where the force 
of at which or in which ; as, "It is not so with respect to voli- 
tions and actions ; here the coalescence is intimate ;" "I will 
visit my friends; there I shall find comfort;" "Tell me the 
place where it happened." The antecedent is often omitted ; as, 
" Tell me where it happened." 

The adverb there may be used when we wish the nomina- 
tive case to stand after its verb: "There followed Him great 
multitudes" 

Note VIII. — The adverbs yes, yea, ay, no, nay, are used inde- 
pendently ; as, "Will he consent?" " Yes." " Will he go?" 
"iVb." These words are each of them equivalent to a whole sen- 
tence. The word amen is also used independently. 

Yea and nay are also used in another sense; as, "A good 
man always profits by his endeavors ; yea, when he is absent ; 
nay, when dead, by his example and memory." Here yea is 
nearly equivalent to this ; so is nay. 



SYNTAX OF ADVERBS. 611 

Note IX. — Two Negatives in English are equivalent to an 
Affirmative; as, "Nor did he not perceive them" = he did per- 
ceive them; "His manners are not inelegant" = are elegant. 
When two negatives, as in the last example, are used to express 
an affirmative, they denote the quality only in a moderate degree. 

In popular language, two negatives are frequently used for a 
negation, according to the practice of the ancient Greeks and 
the modern French. This idiom was primitive, and was retain- 
ed in the Anglo-Saxon ; as, " Oc se Kinning Peada ne rixade 
nane while." — Saxon Chronicle, p. 33. " And the King Peada 
did not reign none while." " He did not owe nothing" in vul- 
gar language, is equivalent to " he owed nothing," in the style 
of the learned. 

Note X. — No is sometimes improperly used for not; as, 
" ' "Whether love be natural or no] replied my friend, gravely, 
' it contributes to the happiness of every society into which it 
is introduced.' " No properly never qualifies a verb. 

Adverbial phrases are treated generally in the same manner 
as adverbs ; as, " The many letters I receive do not a little en- 
courage me." Here a little modifies the verb encourage. 

In Imperative sentences the verb is sometimes suppressed, 
and is indicated by an adverb which seems to supply its place ; 
as, " ' Down with him !' cried false Sextus, with a smile on his 
pale face." See § 506. 

THE COLLOCATION OF ADVERBS. 

§ 524. 1. They are placed before adjectives and participles, 
and the adverbs which they modify ; as, " He was exceedingly 
modest;" " greatly beloved ;" " not only wisely, but firmly." 

2. They usually follow a verb when single ; as, " He spoke 
eloquently ;" and if a verb is transitive, with an object follow- 
ing, the adverb follows the object ; as, " John received the pres- 
ent gratefully" To this rule there are many exceptions. 

3. When an auxiliary and a participle are used, the adverb is 
usually placed between them, or it follows the participle ; as, " He 
was graciously received," or, " He was received graciously." 

4 When two auxiliaries are used, the adverb is usually after 
the second ; as, " We have been kindly treated." But it may 
follow the participle ; as, " We have been treated kindly /" and 



612 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

in some instances it may precede the auxiliaries ; as, " And cer- 
tainly you must have known." 

5. An Adverb is sometimes put emphatically at the beginning 
of a sentence ; as, "Never was a man so used." 

6. The negative adverb not follows, and never, in modern 
usage, precedes, the principal verb to which it refers. "We can 
not now say " She not denies it," as in Shakspeare. 

7. The words only and merely sometimes have a wrong lo- 
cation ; as, " The first (pestilence) could be only imputed to the 
just indignation of the gods." It should be, " only to the just 
indignation of the gods." 

8. The adverb enough is always placed after the adjective 
which it modifies, and the adjective and the adverb after the 
substantive; as, "A house large enough" 

9. The adverb how should not be used before the conjunction 
that, nor instead of it ; as, " He said how that he should be in 
Boston." " He said how he would be in Boston." 

correspondent adverbs. 

§ 525. Yea — nay ; " Did he say yea or nay ? n 

Not only — but also ; " He was not only kind, but also 

courteous." 

Now — now ; " Like leaves on trees the race of man is found : 

Now green in youth, now withering on the ground." 

Where — there ; "Wliere you dwell, there will I dwell." 

"When — then ; "When pride cometh, then cometh shame." 

There — here ; " In glittering pomp appear : 

There bold Automedon, Patroclus Aere." 

EXERCISES IN THE SYNTAX OF ADVERBS. 

Rule XXXYIII. — a. Despair naturally produces indolence. 
i.S. 

b. A perfect woman, nobly planned 

To warn, to comfort, and command. — Wordsworth. C. S. 

c. So well-educated a boy naturally gives great hopes to his 
friends. C. S. 

Note I. — a. Use a little wine for thine often infirmities. F. S. 

b. We should implant in the minds of youth such seeds and 
principles of piety and virtue as are likely to take soonest and 
deepest root. C. S. 



SYNTAX OF ADVERBS. 613 

Note II. — a. For why the good old rule 

Sufficeth them, the simple plan, 
That they should take who have the power, 

And they should keep who can. — Wordsworth, C. S. 

b. He went to where the accident was committed. C. S. 

c. But an eternal now does ever last. — Cowley. C. S. 
In this example, ever last is tautological. 

Note III. — a. In a word, his speech was all excellent good in 
itself. F. S. 

b. He came agreeable to his promise, and conducted himself 
suitable to the occasion. F. S. 

Note IV. — a. Come here to me if you will not go -there to 
him. C. S. 

I. Come hither, come hither, by night and by day 

We linger in pleasures that never are gone. C. S. 

Note V. — a. He arrived at Liverpool, and from thence he 
went to London. C. S. 

b. He arrived at Liverpool, and thence he went to London. 
C. S. 

Note VI. — a. The Lord is King, be the people never so im- 
potent. C. S. 

b. Ask me never so much dowry. C. S. 

c. If the opportunities of some persons were ever so favorable, 
they are too idle to improve them. C. S. 

Note VII. — a. The Scriptures are a revelation from God; 
here we find the truths we need to know. C. S. 

b. His follies had reduced him to a situation where he has 
every thing to fear and nothing to hope. C. S. Instead of 
where, many grammarians would say in which. 

c. "Where the heart has laid down what it most loved, it is 
desirous of laying itself down. C. S. Where, in this case, is 
used like what, and contains in itself the antecedent. 

Note VIII.— Will he, upon examination, confess the truth ? 
No. C. S. 

Note IX. — a. I can not by no means admit it to be true. F. S. 

b. Nobody can never say that none of our family was never 
guilty of no dishonestness. F. S. 

Note X. — If that be all, there is no need of paying for it, since 
I am resolved to have that pleasure, whether I am there or no. 
F. S. 



614 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SYNTAX OF PREPOSITIONS. 

§ 526. Rule XXXIX. — Prepositions govern the objective 
case; asj " They went out from us, because they w&e not of 
us ;" "From him that is needy turn not away ;" " The face of 
Raphael's mother blends ivith the angelic beauty of all his Ma- 
donnas." 

Prepositions sometimes govern sentences ; as, " But before I 
can venture to lay it before you, it is proper to call your atten- 
tion to how matters stood at the time of its publication.''''' — 
Erskine in behalf of Stockdale. 

The accurate or appropriate use of prepositions can be under- 
stood only by carefully keeping in mind the exact relations 
which they express. It is the remark of Bopp, that at the bot- 
tom of every preposition, in its original sense, there exists a re- 
lation between two opposite conceptions ; thus, before implies 
behind, and over, under. See § 374. 

Note I. — A preposition expresses the relation in which the 
conception named by a noun substantive stands to that named 
by another noun substantive, or asserted by a verb, or assumed 
by an adjective. It should, therefore, be placed as near as pos- 
sible to each of the words whose relations it expresses : " The 
ignorance of the age in mechanical arts rendered the progress 
very slow of the new invention." It should be, " the progress 
of the new invention very slow." 

Note II. — The preposition is sometimes separated from its 
noun, in order to connect different prepositions with the same 
noun ; as, " To suppose the zodiac and the planets to be efficient 
o/and antecedent to themselves." This form, though inelegant, 
is often convenient, especially in forms of law, where exactness 
and fullness must take place of every other consideration. 

Note III. — The preposition is sometimes separated from the 
word which it governs ; as, " Milton is an author whom I am 
much delighted with.'''' The form of expression is in some cases 
idiomatic and expressive, though a violation of a general rule. 

Note IY. — Prepositions are sometimes understood ; as, " He 



SYNTAX OF PREPOSITIONS. 615 

gave me a book ;" " Get me some paper" = He gave to me some 
paper ; Get for me some paper. These, as explained elsewhere, 
are remains of Dative forms existing in the Anglo-Saxon, and 
may he parsed without the aid of a preposition. See § 486. 
The prepositions in, on, for, and from, are understood before 
nouns of time and place ; as, " This day," " next month," are 
used elliptically, for " on this day," " in this month." For a 
somewhat different view of such sentences, see § 486. 

Note Y. — The word to which the preposition refers is often 
omitted, especially before an Infinitive ; as, " He is a person 
not fit to converse with." The ellipsis may be supplied by whom 
it is introduced into the sentence : " He is a person whom it is 
not fit to converse with." 

In those instances in which the preposition is treated as an 
adverb, there is often a noun understood ; as, " The heavens 
above;" " the earth beneath." 

Note YI. — Prepositions seem sometimes to be put absolutely 
after the perfect participle; as, " The man spoken to;" " The 
subject talked of" 

Note YII. — Prepositions are in some cases used for nouns ; 
as, " The ins are fewer than the outs" 

Note YIII. — The prepositions up, on, over, by, &c, are often 
subjoined to verbs, so that the verb and preposition can be re- 
garded as a compound word ; as, " To get up" Some of these 
compounds are idiomatic ; as, " To get up" = to rise ; to go on 
=to proceed. 

Note IX. — Grammarians are not agreed as to the syntax of 
near and nigh, like and unlike, save and except, but and than, 
and some others. In the phrases "near him," "nigh him," 
some regard near and nigh as performing the office of preposi- 
tions, like the Latin words propior proximus, while others con- 
sider the preposition to as understood. In the phrases " except 
them" and "save them," some consider except and save as prep- 
ositions, while others regard them as verbs in the Imperative. 
They were originally verbal. The words saving, barring, dur- 
ing, touching, concurring, relating to, originally participles, 
perform the functions of prepositions. Thus we see that words 
which were adjectives, verbs, or participles, become prepositional 
in their character. 



616 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Note X. — The preposition to is made use of before nouns of 
place, when they follow verbs and participles of motion ; as, " I 
went to London ;" but the preposition at is generally used after 
the verb to be; as, " I have been at Amherst." The preposi- 
tion in is set before the names of countries, cities, and large 
towns; as, "He lives in France." In the Devonshire dialect, 
"He lives to Exmouth" is used instead of " at Exmouth." 

Note XL — Two prepositions in some cases come together ; as, 
"From under the ship ;" 

"From, before the lustre of her face, 
White break the clouds away." 

Note XII. — Prepositions are elliptically construed with certain 
adjectives; as, "In vain," "in secret;" and also with certain 
adverbs ; as, "At once." These are called adverbial phrases. 

Note XIII. — Prepositions sometimes form compound verbs by 
being joined with Intransitive verbs, and also with verbs in the. 
passive voice ; as, " She smiled at him ;" " A bitter persecution 
was carried on." 

Note XIV. — In some cases the preposition is advantageously 
repeated ; as, "In journey ings often, in perils of waters, in per- 
ils of robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by 
the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils on the sea, in perils 
among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watch- 
ings often, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness." 

Note XV. — It is a general rule that (xreek, Latin, and French 
derivatives are followed by a preposition corresponding with that 
which is in composition ; as, " To sympathize with;" " to expel 
from;" "to adapt to." To this rule there are many excep- 
tions; as, "We submit to;" "we prefer to;" "aversion to," 
not aversion from. 

Note XYI. — The following examples of the improper use of 
prepositions, with corrections, are from Murray's Grammar, p. 
189: 

" He was resolved of going to the Persian court ;" " on going," 
&c. 

" He found the greatest difficulty of writing ;" "in writing," 
&c. 

" The English were a very different people then to what they 
are now ;" "from what," &c. 



SYNTAX OF PREPOSITIONS. 617 

" It is more than they thought for f " thought of" 

" Neither of them shall make me swerve out of the path ;" 
"from the path." 

" He was made much on at Argos ;" " much of" &o. 

" Neither of them shall make me swerve out of the path ;" 
"from the path." 

" In compliance to (with) your request." 

" The rain has been falling of a long time ;" " falling a long 
time." 

" He was eager of recommending it to his fellow-citizens ;" 
" in recommending," &c. 

" You have bestowed your favors to the most deserving per- 
sons ;" "upon the most deserving persons." 

"The history of Peter is agreeable with the sacred texts;" 
" to the sacred texts." 

" If policy can prevail upon force ;" " over force." 

" The variety of factions into which we are still engaged ;" 
" in which." 

" The wisest princes need not think it any diminution to their 
greatness, or derogation to their sufficiency to rely upon counsel ;" 
"diminution of" and " derogation from." 

" A strict observance after times and fashions ;" " of times." 

" Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a 
camel;" "which strain out a gnat." 

THE COLLOCATION OF PREPOSITIONS. 

§ 527. The general rule is, that the preposition shall precede 
the substantive which it governs. To this rule there are excep- 
tions. For though, in construction, it precedes the noun or pro- 
noun dependent on it, yet in its position in the sentence it may 
be far separated from it, as in Note III., or even follow it. 

EXERCISES IN THE SYNTAX OF PREPOSITIONS. 

Rule XXXIX. — a. He came from Switzerland, through 
Prance, over to England, and stayed some months among us. 
C. S. 

b. Between you and I, there is much mischief in that plan. 
F.S. 

c. Does that boy know who he speaks to ? "Who does he of- 
fer such language to ? F.S. 



618 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

d. He had not long enjoyed repose before he began to be 
weary of having nothing to do. C. S. 

Note I. — The success was very great of that enterprise. F. S. 

Note II. — a. He was related to, and governed by, the same 
person. F. S. 

b. He was refused admission into and forcibly driven from 
his home. F. S. 

Note III. — The man whom I bought that horse of is not 
honest. 

Note IV.' — a. When at the store will you get me some paper ? 
C. S. 

b. I shall be in Boston next month. C. S. 

Note Y. — a. This pen which I have just bought is not fit to 
write with. C. S. 

b. When we look around we see abundant proofs of the good- 
ness of Grod. C. S. 

Note VI.' — This doctrine is every where spoken against. C. S. 

Note VII. — There are ultras on both sides. C. S. Ultra is 
a Latin preposition. 

Note VIII. — After waiting a long time, we gave over looking 
for them. C. S. 

Note IX. Like the dew on the mountain, 

Like the foam on the river, 
Like the bubble on the fountain, 

Thou art gone, and forever. — Scott. C. S. 

Note X. — In his journey he went to New York, but is now in 
Philadelphia. C. S. 

Note XI. With noise like the sound of distant thunder, 

Roaring, they rushed from the black clouds under. C. S. 

Note XII. — In vain ; in earnest ; in secret ; in public. C. S. 

Note XIII. — In that club the Christian religion was scoffed 
at. C. S. 

Note XIV. — In their dress, their table, their houses, their fur- 
niture, the favorites of fortune united every refinement of con- 
venience, of elegance, and of splendor. C. S. 

Note XV. — To comply with ; to adapt to ; to compare with. 
C. S. 

Note XVI. — You have bestowed your favors to the most de- 
serving persons. F. S. 



SYNTAX OF CONJUNCTIONS. QIQ 



CHAPTER, VIII. 

SYNTAX OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

§ 528. Rule XL. — Conjunctions connect propositions, sen- 
tences, or single words ; as, " He is wise and she is virtuous;" 
" Honor your parents if you wish for happiness in life ;" " Will- 
iam and Mary are a happy pair." 

A careful analysis of the power of the conjunction goes far to- 
ward proving that it is a part of speech serving to show the par- 
ticular mode in which one sentence is connected loith another 
sentence ; while single words are connected by prepositions, and 
not by conjunctions. See § 375. For the relations which con- 
junctions bear to the subjunctive mode, see § 518. 

Note I. — The conjunction that serves to introduce a sen- 
tence ; as, " That he should have missed his way is not strange." 

Note II. — Disjunctives (or, nor) are of two sorts, real and 
nominal. A king or queen always rules in England. Here 
the Disjunction is real, king and queen being different names 
for different objects. In all real Disjunctions, the inference is, 
that if one out of two (or more) individuals (or classes) do not 
perform a certain action, the other does. 

A Sovereign or Supreme governor always rules in En- 
gland. Here the Disjunction is nominal, sovereign and su- 
preme governor being different names for the same object. In 
all nominal Disjunctives, the inference is, that if an agent (or 
agents) do not perform a certain action under one name, he does 
(or they do) it under another. — Latham. 

Note III. — In poetry, nor and or are frequently substituted 
for either and neither; thus : 

"Nor Simois, 
Nor rapid Xanthus' celebrated flood." — Addison. 

"Or by the lazy Scheldt or wandering Po." — Goldsmith. 

Note IV. — If is sometimes employed for ivhether; as, "He 
doubts if two and two make four." 

Note V. — The conjunction is often omitted ; as, " "Were there 



620 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

no difference there would be no choice," i. e., "if there were*" 
See § 518. 

Note VI. — Some conjunctions have their corresponding con- 
junctions, so that in the subsequent member of the sentence the 
latter conjunction answers to the former ; as, 

1. Though — yet, nevertheless; as, "Though deep, yet 
clear ; though gentle, yet not dull." 

2. "Whether — or ; as, " Whether he will go or not, I can not 
tell." 

3. Either — or ' fj as, " I will either send it or bring it myself." 
. 4. Neither — nor ; as, "Neither thou nor I am able to com- 
pass it." 

5. As- — as ; expressing a comparison ; as, " He is as good as 
she." 

Note VII. — In like manner, certain conjunctions correspond 
with certain adverbs : 

1. As — so ; expressing a comparison ; as, "As he excels in 
virtue, so he rises in estimation ;" "As the stars, so shall thy 
seed be." 

2. So — as ; "To see thy glory so as I have seen Thee in the 
sanctuary ;" " Pompey was not so great a man as Csesar." 

3. So — that ; expressing a consequence ; as, " He was so 
fatigued that he could scarcely move." 

4. K/Ather — than ; as, " He would consent rather than suf- 
fer." 

5. Not only — but also ; as, " He was not only prudent, but 
he was also industrious." 

Note VIII. — In like manner, certain conjunctions correspond 
with certain adjectives ; as, 

1. Other — than ; " "Were it any other than he, I would not 
submit ;" " He is greater than I." 

2. Same — as ; " Your paper is of the same quality as this." 

3. Such — as ; " I will give you such pens as I have." 

4. Such — that ; " His diligence was such that his friends 
were confident of success." 

5. Comparatives generally are followed by than ; as, " He is 
greater than I." 

Note IX. — Neither, nor, and either, or, should be placed 
next the words to which they refer; as, "Neither he nor his 



SYNTAX OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

friends were present ;" " It neither improves the understt^ 
nor delights the heart." 

Note X. — The pronominal adjective all sometimes "beautiful- 
ly supplies the place of the copulative conjunction ; as, 

"All heart they live, all head, all eye, all ear, 
All intellect, all sense." — Paradise Lost. 

EXERCISES IN THE SYNTAX OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

Rule XL.-— a. This rock soon "became hallowed in the esteem 
of the Pilgrims, and these hills grateful to their sight. C. S. 

b. I shall visit him this summer because he desires it. C. S. 

c. The day is pleasant because the sun shines. The day will 
be pleasant if the sun shine. C. S. 

Note I. — That we may fully understand the subject, let us 
consider the following propositions. C. S. 

Note II. — a. A king or queen always rules in England. C. S. 

b. The syntactical division of the parts of speech may be 
traced to the first beginnings of dialectic or logic, in other words, 
to Plato. The formation of a system of logic is, in fact, simply 
a discovery of the principles of syntax, or of the formation of 
sentences. C. S. 

Note III. — a. Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear 
Invade thy bounds. C. S. 

b. Oh ! struggling with the darkness of the night, 

And visited all night with troops of stars, 
Or when they climb the sky, or when they sink. C. S. 

Note IY. — I can not say if he was here, for I was absent. C. S. 

Note V. — a. This elegant rose, had I shaken it less, 

Might have bloomed' with its owner a while. O. S. 

b. Reason holds, as it were, the balance between the passive 
and the active powers of the mind. C. S. 

Note YI. — a. Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. 
C.S. 

b. "Whether he will publish his work or not is uncertain. C. S. 

Note YII. — Pope does not show so much genius as Dry den in 
his works, but more finish. C. S. 

Note YIII. — And, behold, it was no other than he. C. S. 

Note IX. — a. Neither flattery nor threats could prevail. C. S. 

b. Com is not separated but by thrashing, nor men from 



622 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

worldly employments "but by tribulation. — Burton. Nor is in 
this case used without its correspondent conjunction neither* 
Note X. Tell him all terms, all commerce I decline ; 

Nor share his council, nor his battle join. C. S. 

INTERJECTIONS. 

§ 529. Rule XLI. — Certain Interjections are joined with 
the objective case of the pronoun of the first person, and with 
the nominative of the pronoun of the second; as, u Ah me!" 
u Oh thou!" Oh or O, in some cases, seems to stand instead 
of a subject and verb ; as, 

"0/ that the rosebud which graces yon island 
Were wreathed in a garland around him to twine." 

"Oh that those lips had language ! life has passed 
With me but roughly since I saw thee last." 

ELLIPSIS. 

§ 530. Ellipsis is the omission of some word or ivords nec- 
essary to the full construction of a sentence. It has also been 
called a defective mode of expression, substituted for, and orig- 
inating in, one more perfect. See § 480. 

This figure is very common in the language, and often serves 
to avoid disagreeable repetition. When the ellipsis would ob- 
scure the sentence or weaken its force, it should not be admit- 
ted. No very definite rules can be given. 

ELLIPSIS OF THE SUBSTANTIVE. 

1. These counsels were the dictates of virtue and the dictates 
of true honor. F. S. The second dictates should be omitted. 

2. A taste for useful knowledge will provide for us a great and 
noble entertainment, when others leave us. F. S. It should be 
other entertainments. 

3. Without firmness, nothing that is great can be undertaken, 
that is difficult can be accomplished. F. S. 

ELLIPSIS OP THE ADJECTIVE. 

1. That species of commerce will produce great gain or loss. 
F. S. 

2. His crimes had brought him into extreme distress and ex- 
treme perplexity. F. S. 



SYNTAX OF THE CONJUNCTION. 623 

3. The people of this country possess a healthy climate and 
soil. F. S. 

ELLIPSIS OF THE ARTICLE. 

1. The more I see of his conduct, I like him "better. F. S. 

2. The gay and the pleasing are sometimes the most insidi- 
ous and the most dangerous companions. F. S. 

ELLIPSIS OF THE PRONOUN. 

1. I gladly shunned who gladly fled from me. F. S. 

2. His reputation and his estate were both lost by gaming. 
F.S. 

3. In the circumstances I was at that time, my troubles press- 
ed heavily on me. F. S. 

ELLIPSIS OF THE VERB. 

1. The sacrifices of virtue will not only be rewarded hereafter, 
but recompensed even in this life. F. S. 

2. Genuine virtue supposes our benevolence to be strength- 
ened and to be confirmed by principle. F. S. 

3. All those possessed of any office resigned their former com- 
mission. F. S. 

ELLIPSIS OF THE ADVERB. 

1. The temper of him who is always in the bustle of the 
world -will be often ruffled and often disturbed. F. S. 

2. We often commend imprudently as well as censure im- 
prudently. F. S. 

ELLIPSIS OF THE PREPOSITION. 

1. Censure is a tax which a man pays the public for being 
eminent. F. S. 

2. Reflect on the state of human life, and the society of men 
as mixed with good and with evil. F. S. 

ELLIPSIS OF THE CONJUNCTION. 

1. No rank, station, dignity of birth, possessions, exempt men 
from contributing their share to public utility. F. S. 

2. Destitute of principle, he regarded neither his family, nor 
his friends, nor his reputation. F. S. 



624 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 



PROMISCUOUS EXAMPLES OF FALSE SYNTAX. 

The pupil is expected to make the corrections and give the 
Rules. 

1. Neither death nor torture were sufficient to suhdue the 
minds of Cargill and his intrepid followers. 

2. Out of my doors, you wretch ! you hag ! — Merry Wives 
of Windsor. Supply the ellipsis. 

3. Believe me, the providence of Grod has established such an 
order in the world, that, of all that belongs to us, the least val- 
uable parts can alone fall under the will of others. — Boling- 
broke. What tvord will you substitute for alone, and where 
in the sentence will you place it ? 

4. The earth is so samely, that your eyes turn toward heav- 
en — toward heaven, I mean, in the sense of sky. Give the rule 
for forming adverbs from adjectives. 

5. We must not make a scarecrow of the law, 

Setting it up to fear the birds of prey. — Shakspeare. 

I were flayed of flaying them = I was afraid of frightening them. 
To fear, in the first example, and flaying, in the last, which is 
provincial, are examples of verbs used in a causative sense. 

6. From what we can learn, it is probable that apples will be 
so plenty the coming fall, that the inferior sorts will not be 
gathered at all. What ivord will you substitute for plenty, 
and why ? 

7. He that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. 

8. He is always master of the subject, and seems to play him- 
self with it. 

9. "We enter, as it were, into his body, and become in some 
measure him. 

10* One more unfortunate, 

Weary of breath ; 
Rashly importunate, 

Gone to her death. — Hoon. Supply the ellipses. 

11. Passengers are forbidden standing on the platform of the 
cars. How is standing parsed ? 

12. There are but few that know how to conduct them under 
vehement affections of any kind. — President Edwards. WJiat 
will you substitute for them ? 



SYNTAX OF THE CONJUNCTION. (525 

13. It is more than a twelvemonth since an evening lecture 
was set up in this town. Name the section in which such ex- 
pressions as twelvemonth are mentioned? 

14. Either, said I, you did not know the way well, or you 
did ; if the former, it was dishonest in you to>undertake to guide 
me ; if the latter, you have willfully led me miles out of my 
way. — W. Cobbett. How do you parse former and latter ? 

15. You are a much greater loser than me by his death. 

16. Christ, and him crucified, is the head, and the only head 
of the Church. 

17. I do not suppose that we Britons want genius more than 
the rest of our neighbors. 

18. The first proposal was entirely different and inferior to 
the second. 

19. Read, for instance, Junius' address, commonly called his 
letter to the king. 

20. To the happiness of possessing a person of such uncom- 
mon merit, Charles soon had the satisfaction of obtaining the 
highest honor his country could bestow. Soon united the sat- 
isfaction, &c. 

21. The book is printed very neat, and on fine wove paper. 

22. He is the man I want. What ellipsis is here ? 

23. "Whom he would he slew. How do you parse whom ? 

24. Forthwith on all sides to his aid, was run 

By angels many and strong. — Paradise Lost, 6. 

How do you parse was run ? Is it used impersonally ? 

25. The youth and inexperience of the prince, he was only 
fifteen years of age, declined a perilous encounter. Is he not 
used instead of the relative ? In old writers, he, she, and it 
are used instead of relatives. 

26. Who would have thought of your presiding at the meeting. 

27. There is a house to let in the next street. See § 511. 

28. If I open my eyes on the light, I can not choose but see. 
What is there that is peculiar in this sentence ? 

29. The spread of education set the people a thinking and 
reasoning. How do you parse a ? 

30. What is religion? Not a foreign inhabitant, not some- 
thing alien in its nature, which comes and takes up its abode in 

R R 



626 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

the soul. It is the soul itself lifting itself up to its Maker. — "W. 
E. Channing. Supply the ellipsis. 

31. Out of debt, out of danger. Supply the ellipsis. 

32. I thought to have heard the noble lord produce some- 
thing like proof. 

33. I have, therefore, given a place to what may not be use- 
less to them whose chief ambition is to please. They stands 
for a noun already introduced ; those, on the contrary, stands 
for a noun not previously introduced ; them, in this example, 
is used improperly. 

34. My purpose was, after ten months' more spent in com- 
merce, to have withdrawn my wealth to a safer country. 

35. I have heard how some critics have been pacified with 
claret and a supper, and others laid asleep with the soft notes of 
flattery. 

36. They that are truly good must be happy. 

37. He was more bold and active, but not so wise and studi- 
ous as his companion. 

38. The greatest masters of critical learning differ among one 
another. 

39. She mounts her chariot in a trice, 
Nor would he stay for no advice, 
Until her maids, that were so nice, , 

To wait on her were fitted. — Drayton. 

40. Thank you ; beseech you ; pray you ; cry you mercy ; 
would it were so ; whither art going ? Supply the ellipsis in 
each case. 

41. Seest how brag yon bullock bears ; 

So smirk, so smooth its pricked ears. — Spenser. 

Supply the ellipsis. 

42. The train of our ideas are often interrupted. 

Is there a God to swear by, and is there none to believe in, 
none to trust to ? This is barely allowable. 

43. Mr. such an one was strongly opposed to the measure. 

44. The sense of the feeling can indeed give us the idea of 
extension. 

45. And though, by Heaven's severe decree, 
She suffers hourly more than me. 

46. The chief ruler is styled a president. 



SYNTAX OF THE CONJUNCTION. 627 

47. Let he that looks after them look on his hand ; 

And if there is blood on't, he's one of their band. — Scott. 

48. No one messmate of the round table was, than him, more 
fraught with manliness and beauty. 

49. The winter's wind, 
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body 
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say, 
This is no flattery. 

50. Anger is like 

A full hot horse, who, being allowed his way, 
Self mettle tires him. — Henry VIII., i. 

How do you parse which and who in the last two passages ? 
Are they in the nominative absolute ? 

51. Who riseth from a feast 
With that keen appetite that he sits down % 

Merchant of Venice. 

How is the second that parsed ? Is it in the nominative ab- 
solute ? 

52. -False prophets which come to you in sheeps' clothing, but 
inwardly they are ravening wolves. — Matt., xiii., 21. 

53. " There's I." " There's you." Which is the subject 
and which the predicate in these tivo examples ? 

54. There's two or three of us have seen strange sights. 
Which is the subject? 

55. Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy, 

Yet with a pleasing sorcery could charm. — Par. Lost, ii.,565. 

Wliat is nominative to could charm ? 

56. The milk-maid singeth blithe, 

And the shepherd whets his scythe. — Milton. 

57. Their idleness, as well as the large societies which they 
form, incline them to pleasure and gallantry. 

58. King James the First was seized with a tertian ague, 
which, when his courtiers assured him, from the proverb, that 
it was health for a king, he replied that the proverb was meant 
for a young king. How do you parse which ? 

59. To be humane, candid, and generous, are in every case 
very high degrees of merit. 

60. Nor have I, like an heir unknown, 
Seized upon Attalus his throne. 

61. I have read the Emperor's Charles the Fifth's life. 



628 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

62. He whom ye pretend reigns in heaven, is so far from pro- 
tecting the miserable sons of men, that he perpetually delights 
to blast the sweetest flowers in the garden of hope. 

63. Some of the most sacred festivals in the Roman ritual 
were destined to salute the new kalends of January with vows 
of public and private felicity, to indulge the pious remembrance 
of the dead and living. 

64. How is your health ? How do your pulse beat ? 

65. In his days, Pharaoh-Necho, King of Egypt, went up 
against the King of Assyria, to the River Euphrates, and King 
Josiah went against him, and he slew him at Megiddo, when he 
had seen him. — Ambiguous Syntax. To whom does he refer? 

66. Yet you, my Creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, 
to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihila- 
tion of one of us.' — Frankenstein. 

67. A people that jeoparded their lives unto the death. 

68. Although the conciliating the Liberalists and paralyzing 
the Royalists occupied considerable time, he was never for an 
instant diverted from his purpose. — W. Scott. This use of the 
participle is not destitute of authority. What form, however, 
is preferable ? 

69. It is not fit for such as us to sit with the rulers of the 
land. — Scott's Ivanhoe. 

70. I took the steam-boat as you. 

71. One of his clients, who was more merry than wise, stole 
it from him one day in the midst of his pleading ; but he had 
better have let it alone, for he lost his cause by his jest. 

72. I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, 
Where ox-lips and the nodding violet grows. 

73. James used to compare him to a cat that always fell upon 
her legs. 

74. Perhaps, too, this preponderance of what is termed fash- 
ion is with the "Whig party ; an assistance of very little use now 
to what it was when they were in a small minority, and re- 
quired certain prestiges to protect them from ridicule. — Bul- 
wer. To what it was is idiomatic, but is not so much used 
as formerly. 

75. This effect, we may safely say, no one beforehand could 
have promised upon. 



SYNTAX OF SIMPLE SENTENCES. 629 



CHAPTER IX. 

SYNTAX OF SIMPLE SENTENCES. 

§ 531. A Sentence is the expression of a thought in words. 

A Declarative Sentence is substantially the same as a Prop- 
osition. 

Interrogative Sentences are of two kinds, Direct and In- 
direct. 

A Direct Interrogative Sentence is an inverted construc- 
tion, in which the verb comes before the subject, and requires 
for an answer a direct Affirmation or Denial; as, " Have you 
seen Henry ?" " Yes." " Shall you go to New York ?" "iVo." 

An Indirect Interrogative Sentence is always introduced 
by an interrogative word, as the pronoun who, the adjective 
which, the adverb when, and requires a specific answer ; as, 
"Who defeated Burgoyne ?" " General Gates." " In which 
war?" a In the Revolutionary war." "Where did he defeat 
him?" "At Stillwater." 

An Imperative Sentence is an inverted construction, in 
which the subject follows the verb ; as, " Speak ye." 

An Exclamatory Sentence expresses some passion ; as, 
" What a piece of work is man !" 

An Optative Sentence expresses a wish ; as, " May you 
have health and long life." 

the predicative combination. 

§ 532. A Predicative Combination, as, " Washington wrote," 
constitutes a simple sentence in which there is a subject con- 
nected with a predicate. Whatever has already been said con- 
cerning Substantives or words standing in the place of substan- 
tives, when used in the nominative case, relates to the predica- 
tive combination. Whatever, also, has been said concerning 
Verbs as agreeing with these subjects in expressing the relations 
of Person, Time, and Mode, relates to the predicative combina- 
tion. Whatever, also, has been said concerning Adjectives, Par- 
ticiples, and Substantives, when used as Predicates, relates to 
the predicative combination. 



630 • . SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 



THE ATTRIBUTIVE COMBINATION. 

§ 533. Any notion added to a substantive or a word standing 
as a substantive, for the purpose of describing it more exactly, 
but not asserted of it, is said to be joined to it Attributively. 
Thus, " The patriotic "Washington wrote," or, "Washington the 
patriot wrote," contains an attributive combination. What- 
ever has already been said concerning adjectives, pronouns, and 
substantives, when they limit the meaning of other substantives, 
relates to the attributive combination ; as, " The wise king ;" 
"the rising sun;" "that man;" " Mirabeau the orator;" 
"John's book;" "the man of wisdom" ' = the wise man; "a 
walk in the morning" — a morning's ivalk. A Predicative 
combination can be changed into an attributive one by chang- 
ing the predicate to an attributive ; as, " Flowers bloom," 
" blooming flower sP 

THE OBJECTIVE COMBINATION. 

§ 534. The general idea of the Objective Combination is illus- 
trated by an accusative case after a verb. But every notion re- 
ferred to a verb or adjective, in whatever form it is expressed, 
is to be considered as an objective factor, and as belonging to 
the -objective combination; as, "He loves his book:" "he will 
come to-morroiv ;" "he works actively;" "generous to his 
friends;" " desirous to learn;" " he travels with haste ;" " he 
looks pale;" "he is guilty of a murder" Much that has al- 
ready been said concerning the government of substantives and 
words standing for substantives, whether by verbs or preposi- 
tions, relates to the objective combination, though it does not 
cover the whole ground. 

THE PARTS OF SENTENCES. 

§ 535. Every Sentence, however long, is composed of only 
three kinds of combinations, the Predicative, the Attributive, 
and the Objective ; as, " Henry wrote." [Add an object to the 
predicate.] "Henry wrote a letter." [Add a notion attribu- 
tively to both substantives.] " The anxious Henry wrote a 
long letter." [Add notions objectively to both adjectives.] 
" Henry, anxious to hear from him, wrote a very long letter." 



SYNTAX OF SIMPLE SENTENCES. 631 

[Add a notion objectively to the verb.] " Henry, anxious to 
hear from him immediately, wrote a very long letter." [Add 
another notion to the verb objectively, and another to the sub- 
stantive attributively.] " His cousin Henry, anxious to hear 
from him immediately, wrote a very long letter to him." 

The Simple Subject is either, 1. A Noun; as, "CcBsar fell;" 
2. A Pronoun ; as, "He fell ;" or any other part of speech used 
as a noun. See § 478. 

The Subject may be enlarged : 

a. By an adjective ; as, " The good man is happy." 

b. By a noun in apposition; as, ""William the Conqueror 
reigned." 

c. By a participle ; as, " "William, having died, left the king- 
dom to his son." 

d. By a noun in the possessive case ; as, " A father's care 
protects his child." 

e. By a preposition and its case ; as, " The love of money is 
the root of all evil." 

f By any number of words which modify the noun ; as, " Soc- 
rates, a man of wisdom, beloved by his friends and. feared by 
his enemies, having been condemned by his judges, and hav- 
ing refused submission to them, perished in prison." 

g. The subject may be a phrase or a quotation; as, "God 
wills it, was Peter's watch- word." 

The Simple Predicate is, 1. A single verb ; as, " Winter 
comes ;" or, 2. A verb with a noun, or adjective, or some equiv- 
alent phrase; as, "Man is mortal;" "He fell sick;" "En- 
gland is an island ;" "He is of a sound mind" 

The Predicate may be enlarged, 1. By completing it : 

a. By a noun in the objective case ; as, " Brutus killed Cce- 
sar." 

b. By a noun in the nominative case ; as, "Edward became 
king." 

c. By a pronoun ; as, "Him the Almighty power hurled head- 
long." 

d. By an adjective; as, "He pitied the wretched" 

e. By the infinitive mode ; as, " He loved to muse" 

f By a preposition and its case ; as, " Pyrrho despaired of 
truth." 



632 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

g. By a double object ; as, " He teaches his pupils logic." 
See § 486. " He wept his eyes red." See § 490. 

ft. By a noun, pronoun, etc., in the objective case, and a prep- 
osition, with the word depending on it ; as, " The beggar asked 
me for alms." 

*'. By a phrase or quotation ; as, " The king remained true 
to his word? 

2. The Predicate can be enlarged by extending it : 

a. By an adverb or adverbial phrase ; as, " Leonidas died 
bravely? 

b. By a preposition, and word or words depending on it ; as, 
" He marched with a large army? 

c. By a noun in the objective case ; as, " He rides every day? 

d. By a participle used adverbially ; as, " He reads ivalking? 

e. By a combination of several of these ways ; as, " Upivard 
I looked, with shuddering awe? 

f By adjuncts of time ; as, " He came yesterday ;" "I get 
up at sunrise;" " He wakes early;" "He suffered for many 
years;" "The sea ebbs and flows twice a day ;" "He comes 
very often? 

g. By adjuncts of place ; as, " He lives in New York ;" " He 
sails to-morrow for America;" "He goe* to Boston by rail- 
way ;" " Civilization travels westward ;" " Learning came /rom 
the East? 

h. Adjuncts of mode or manner; as, "Birds fly quickly;" 
" She cheerly sings ;" " Now in contiguous drops the flood 
comes down;" "I am exceedingly sorry;" "William Rufus 
was shot by an arroiv ;" " They consult with closed doors? 

i. Adjuncts of cause and effect: "He perished/rowa hunger;" 
"With perseverance all things are possible;" "The eye was 
made for seeing ;" " Colleges were founded for the encourage- 
ment of learning ;" " He does it at his peril;" " Cloth is made 
of wool? 

A sentence may combine any number of the foregoing exten- 
sions, whether of the subject or of the predicate, together. See 
Morell's Analysis, p. 12. 



SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. (333 



CHAPTER X. 

SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. 

§ 536. Two simple sentences are connected either by way of 
Co-ordination or by way of Subordination, and thus form a 
Compound Sentence. 

When two sentences are so related to each other as to form 
one thought, each, however, being in a measure independent of 
the other, they are connected by way of Co-ordination ; as, " He 
was ill, and called for a physician ;" " Socrates was wise, Plato 
also was wise." The two sentences taken together constitute a 
co-ordinate compound sentence. 

"When two sentences are so related to each other that the one 
defines and explains the other, and the one is dependent on the 
other, they are connected in the way of Subordination ; as, " He 
reported that the king died ;" " Since the spring has come, the 
roses bloom." "He reported" is the principal sentence ; " that 
the king died" is the subordinate sentence, which defines the 
other, and the two taken together constitute a subordinate com- 
pound sentence. This compound sentence is sometimes called 
a complex sentence, to distinguish it from the compound co-or- 
dinate sentence. 

CO-ORDINATE SENTENCES. 

§ 537. I. Copulate Co-ordinate Sentences are those which 
are connected by the copulative conjunction or their equivalents ; 
as, " The moon and the stars shine" = the moon shines and the 
stars shine; "He will be there as well as you;" "John will 
arrive, also James ;" " She was not only beautiful, but modest." 

II. An Adversative Co-ordinate Sentence is one in which 
the clauses that are contrasted with each other are united to 
form one thought. The opposition or contrast is of such a na- 
ture that the thought in the co-ordinate clause either merely 
limits or restrains the thought of the preceding clause, or wholly 
denies it ; as, " He is indeed poor, but brave ;" " He is not 
guilty, but innocent ;" "I did indeed welcome him to my house, 



634 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

but I found that he was a rascal;" "Though He slay me, yet 
will I trust in Him." 

III. A Disjunctive Co-ordinate Sentence is one in which 
the two clauses composing the entire sentence are united in one 
whole, but one of which excludes the other ; as, " The father or 
the son died;" "Either James or John will be there;" "He 
was neither pious nor prudent ;" " Be industrious, otherwise 
you will come to want ;" " Hasten to reform, else you will be 
ruined;" "Thomas is wiser than John;" "John is as learned 
as James." 

IV. Causal Co-ordinate Sentences. — Two sentences may be 
so arranged that the latter may denote a cause or reason on the 
one hand, or an effort or inference on the other ; as, " The mer- 
cury has sunk, because (cause) the weather is cold ;" " The 
weather is cold, for (reason) the mercury has sunk ;" " The 
land is fertile, therefore (effect) the crops are good ;" " The crops 
are good, therefore (inference) the land is fertile ;" " Wine 
makes him ill, on that account he drinks water ;" " He intends 
to teach, therefore he learns French." 

subordinate sentences. 

§ 538. Subordinate Sentences stand in the place of a Substan- 
tive, or of an Adjective, or of an Adverb, and therefore must be 
regarded as Substantives, or Adjectives, or Adverbs, expanded 
into a sentence. Accordingly, there are three classes of Sub- 
ordinate sentences, viz., Substantive sentences, Adjective sen- 
tences, and Adverbial sentences. 

I. Substantive Sentences are Substantives or Infinitives ex- 
panded into a sentence, and, like substantives, constitute the 
Subject, the Attribute, or the Object of a sentence. " He re- 
ported the death of the king" when expanded = " He reported 
that the king had died" 

1. A Substantive Sentence can be used as the subject of a 
proposition; as, "That the crops will be large is evident." 

2. A Substantive Sentence can be used as the predicate of a 
proposition ; as, " His complaint was, that you deceived him" 

3. A Substantive Sentence can be used as the object of a 
verb; as, " He believes that you injured him" 

4. A Substantive Sentence can stand in apposition to a sub- 



SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. ($35 

stantive in the principal sentence, whether in the nominative or 
objective case ; as, " It is strange that you should think so." 
Here the sentence that you think so is in apposition to it, i. e., 
this thing. 

5. The word that, used in these four instances, also serves to 
connect subordinate sentences which express a, purpose; as, "I 
have come that I may see it with my own eyes;" and also sen- 
tences that express an effect or consequence; as, " The noise 
was such that I could not hear a word" 

II. Adjective Sentences are Adjectives or Participles ex- 
panded into a sentence, and, like adjectives, they express a more 
exact definition of a Substantive or substantive Pronoun. They 
are usually introduced by relative pronouns ; as, "A person who 
is ignorant of his own language == [a person ignorant of his 
own language] ought not to attempt to teach it ;" " The trees 
which I planted =[the trees planted by me] are flourishing." 
The adjective ignorant may be regarded as expanded into yjho 
is ignorant. Adjective sentences are called Complex. 

III. Adverbial Sentences are Adverbs, Participles, or Sub- 
stantives used adverbially, expanded into sentences, and, like 
adverbs, denote an adverbial object, i. e., such an object as does 
not complete the idea of the predicate, but merely defines it. 
Hence they express a more full explanation of the Place, Time 9 
Reason, Manner. 

1. Relation of Place; as, "He is not there, where you ex- 
pected to meet him;" u Whither soever I go, I will remember 
you ;" "I know not whence he came." 

2. Relation of Time; as, "When any body asked him, he 
would not give an answer ;" " While he was traveling, he re- 
ceived the intelligence." 

3. Relation of Cause or Reason; as, "He is not liked, be- 
cause he is presumptuous ;" " The gentleman being introduced 
to me, I addressed him in English ;" " He stays at home, as he 
expects a visit." 

4. Conditional adverbial sentences are such as express a con- 
dition, and are introduced by the hypothetical conjunction if, or 
some equivalent; as, "I shall continue the work if I can." 
"Prove that to me, and I shall be satisfied." Here "prove that 
to me" is equivalent to "if you will prove that to me." The 



636 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

conditional clause is sometimes expressed by a question; as, 
"Is any man pinched with want, charity shall relieve him." 

As the conditioning clause usually precedes the conditioned, 
the former (the subordinate clause) is called the Protasis, Con- 
dition, and the latter (the principal clause) is called the Apodq- 
sis, Conclusion. " If he visit "Washington (Protasis) he will see 
the President" (Apodosis). 

5. Relation of Manner ; as, " He did that just as it ought 
to be done" —just right. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROPOSITIONS. 

§ 539. Language consists of propositions, the forms of which 
are almost endless. 

I. The imperfect proposition, or that in which no logical sub- 
ject is conceived of or expressed ; as, " It rains ;" " it is warm." 
Here the mere event is affirmed, without any reference to the 
agency by which it is effected. The pronoun it is merely the 
grammatical subject. The addition of a logical subject is nec- 
essary to make the proposition a perfect one. This kind of prop- 
osition is employed in describing the state of the weather and 
other operations of nature. 

II. The simple or naked proposition, or the perfect proposi- 
tion in its most simple form, contains a subject as well as a 
predicate ; as, " God exists." This kind of proposition involves 
the predicative combination only, and not the attributive or ob- 
jective. 

The subject is capable of variation. It may be a noun, a pro- 
noun, or an adjective used substantively, but these may be con- 
sidered merely as varieties of the substantive. 

The mode or mood of the predication is capable of variation. 
It may be affirmative, negative, interrogative, imperative, or 
conditional. But, to avoid perplexity, we shall here consider 
only the positive forms of language. 

The different species of this proposition, so far as the predi- 
cate is concerned, are as follows : 

1. "Where the predicate is a verb; as, "Man dies." 

2. Where the predicate is an adjective; as, " Man is mortal" 

3. Where the predicate is a substantive; as, " Charles is a 
physician." 



SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. 637 

4. Where the predicate is a substantive with a preposition; 
as, " Paul was at Rome?' 1 

5. Where the predicate is an adverb; as, " The fire is out." 

III. The simple proposition, involving also the attributive 
combination, or the simple proposition with an enlarged subject ; 
as, " The good man is safe." 

This kind of proposition is capable of the variations given 
above of the simple proposition. 

The different species of this proposition, so far as the attribute 
is concerned, are as follows : 

1. Where the attribute is an adjective; as, "A beautiful 
woman is admired." 

2. Where the attribute is a substantive in apposition; as, 
u Christ, the Savior, died." 

3. Where the attribute is a substantive in the genitive case; 
as, "Ccesar's party was triumphant." 

4. Where the attribute is a substantive with a preposition ; 
as, " A friend to the cause is wanted." 

IV. The simple proposition, involving also the objective 
combination, or the simple proposition with an enlarged predi- 
cate ; as, " (rod created the world." 

This kind of proposition is capable of the variations given 
above of the simple proposition. 

The different species of this proposition, so far as the object 
is concerned, are as follows : 

1. Involving the complementary object : 

a. The passive object; as, " Alexander conquered Darius" 

b. The dative object ; as, " John gave the book to Charles" 

c. The genitive object; as, "He repents of his folly ." 

d. The factitive object ; as, " They chose him king" 

2. Involving the supplementary object : 

a. The place; as, "Charles lives here;" "John is gone to 
Boston" 

b. The time ; as, " John is now departing ;" " He rose before 
sunrise." 

c. The cause ; as, " Socrates died from poison;" " She spoke 
from malice;" " A bird is known from its feathers" 

d. The manner; as, "He thinks so;" "He eats temperately." 

V. The simple proposition, involving also both the attribu- 



638 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

live and objective combination ; as, "A good man governs his 
passions." This kind of proposition exhibits all the syntactical 
combinations. See Article on the Three Syntactical Combina- 
tions. 

The forms of this proposition are almost endlessly diversified. 

VI. The proposition intermediate between the simple and 
compound, or the proposition involving a participial. The dif- 
ferent species are as follows : 

1. Where the participial is a participle ; as, "He answering 
said." 

2. "Where the participial is a gerund, or a participle used ad- 
verbially ; as, " He came riding." 

3. Where the participial is a nominative absolute; as, "The 
enemy advancing, he retreated." 

4. Where the participial is a supine, or an infinitive with a 
preposition ; as, " He prepared to go" 

5. Where the participial is an accusative and infinitive or 
supine; as, "He bade him stay ;" "I advised him to go." 

YII. The subordinative compound ox complex proposition, in 
which one proposition is dependent on or subordinate to the oth- 
er. The different species are as follows : 

1. Having a substantive subordinate proposition : 

a. Denoting the subject; as, "That God exists is true." 

b. Denoting the immediate complement ; as, " We know that 
God exists" 

c. Denoting the second complement ; as, " The Bible teaches 
us that God is love." 

2. Having an adjective subordinate proposition, answering to 
an adjective in the simple proposition ; as, " Balbus, who had a 
sword, drew it." 

3. Having an adverbial subordinate proposition, denoting an 
object, not complementary, but supplementary to the verb of the 
leading proposition : 

a. Expressing the place ; as, " Where thou lodgest, I will 
lodge." 

b. Expressing the time; as, " Whensoever ye will, ye may 
do them good." 

c. Expressing the cause ; as, "Because he could swear by no 
greater, ho sware by himself." 



SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. 639 

d. Expressing the manner ; as, " Forgive us our debts, as we 
forgive our debtors" 

e. Expressing intensity ; as, " One is so near to another that 
no air can come between them" 

VIII. The co-ordinaiive compound proposition, where the 
two propositions are co-ordinate or independent of each other, 
hut still make hut one thought. The species are as follows : 

1. The copulative compound proposition, the appropriate con- 
junction for which is and; as, " The sun shines, and the air is 
pleasant." 

2. The adversative compound proposition, the appropriate 
conjunction for which is but; as, "He is not an Englishman, 
but a Frenchman;" yet; as, "The sun shines, yet the air is 
unpleasant;" or or; as, " Either the world had a Creator, or it 
existed by chance." 

3. The causal compound proposition, the appropriate conjunc- 
tion for which is for; as, " (xod is to be loved, for he is good ;" 
or therefore ; as, " God is good, therefore he is to be loved." 

Note.- — When a relation of the logical or adversative ground 
exists between the members of the co-ordinative or subordina- 
tive compound proposition, as in some of the examples given 
above, then the whole compound proposition is brought under 
the dominion of a higher faculty of the human soul, namely, the 
reasoning power, and is called a period. 

IX. The compound period, involving two or more simple pe- 
riods : "As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the 
dial, but did not perceive it moving ; and it appears that the 
grass has grown, though nobody ever saw it grow ; so the ad- 
vances we make in knowledge, as they consist of such minute 
steps, are only perceivable by the distance." 

SPECIMENS OF SENTENCES. 
SIMPLE SENTENCES. 

1. Reason guides. Here we have a simple subject and a 
simple predicate. 

2. Reason cultivated guides. Here we have a modified subject. 

3. Reason cultivated with care guides. Here there is a fur- 
ther modification. 

4. Reason cultivated with great care guides. 



640 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

5. Reason cultivated with great care, for many years, guides. 

6. Reason cultivated with great care, for many years, in the 
"best circumstances, guides. 

7. Reason guides man. Here the predicate is modified. 

8. Reason guides man in his path. Here is farther modifi- 
cation. 

9. Reason guides man in his path through life. 

10. Reason guides man in his path through life in all his 
douhts and difficulties. 

These sentences are Declarative and Direct. 

11. Does reason guide man ? This is Interrogative and In- 
direct. 

12. How admirahle is reason as a guide compared with in- 
stinct ! This is Exclamatory and Indirect. 

13. Let reason guide you. This is Imperative and Indirect. 
In a direct sentence, the subject comes before the verb ; in an 

indirect sentence, the subject comes after the verb. 

14. What is the use of it ? is the first question asked in En- 
gland by almost every body about almost every thing. This is 
a simple sentence, in which the question is the subject, which 
is itself a sentence. 

COMPOUND SENTENCES. 

1. Man proposes and Grod disposes. This is a Copulative Co- 
ordinate sentence. 

2. Charity begins at home, but it should not stay there. This 
is an Adversative Co-ordinate sentence. 

3. He neither was brave nor was he generous. This is a Dis- 
junctive Co-ordinate sentence. 

4. He was always punctual in his payments, and therefore he 
was in good credit. This is a Causal Co-ordinate sentence. 
See § 537. 

In those compound sentences which are sometimes called 
complex, there is always a subordinate sentence. See § 538. 

5. It is a law of nature that water should congeal by cold. 
The second sentence is a Substantive sentence. See § 538. 

6. The man — who is prudent — looks to the future. The 
sentence ivho is prudent is an Adjective sentence. See § 538. 

7. Wlien he has finished his lesson — he goes out to play. 
The first is an Adverbial sentence relating to time. See § 538. 



SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. (341 

8. I can not tell — where they have laid him. The last is an 
Adverbial sentence relating to place. See § 538. 

9. He succeeds — as his father did before him. The last is 
an Adverbial sentence relating to manner. 

10. The stars appear small — because they are distant from 
us. The last is an Adverbial sentence relating to manner. 

11. They remained where they have been residing the last 
five years. This contains an adverbial sentence. 

12. Political economists tell us that self-love is the bond of 
society. This contains a Substantive sentence. 

13. Oh ! for a muse of fire that would ascend 
The highest heaven of invention ! 

This is an Exclamatory sentence. 

GRAMMATICAL EQUIVALENTS. 

§ 540. A Grammatical Form is equivalent to another gram- 
matical form when the first means the same, or nearly the same, 
as the second. 

"What is called a command of language is little else than a 
practical acquaintance with grammatical equivalents. The 
tasteful English scholar is he who habitually uses the better ex- 
pression of two equivalents upon perceived grounds of preference. 
He understands both the points of agreement and the points of 
difference between two expressions. 

EXAMPLES OF GRAMMATICAL EQUIVALENTS. 

§ 541. 1. He reported the death of the king = He reported 
that the king was dead. Here a substantive is expanded into 
a sentence. 

2. The scholars who were educated by him = The scholars ed- 
ucated by him. Here a proposition is abridged into an adjective. 

3. I saw him before the time when you came = I saw him 
before you came. Here a preposition, an article, a noun, and 
an adverb, are abridged into an adverb. 

4. "When the troops had come over the river, they marched 
directly into the fort— Having come over the river, the troops 
marched directly into the fort. Here a sentence is abridged 
into a participle. 

5. He told the troops that they must not fire upon the enemy 

Ss 



642 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

— He told the troops not to fire upon the enemy. Here a sen- 
tence is abridged into an infinitive. 

6. He is a man of learnings He is a learned man = He is not 
unlearned. 

7. Riding on horseback is healthful = To ride on horseback is 
healthful = Horseback riding is healthful. 

8. "When the troops approached, they discharged their mus- 
kets = The troops approached and discharged their muskets. 
Here the subordinate construction is changed to the co-ordinate. 

9. He gave up the undertakings He relinquished the under- 
taking. 

10. Having conquered his enemies, he applied himself to the 
arts of peaces After conquering his enemies, he applied himself 
to the arts of peace. These are specimens. 

EXERCISES. 

§ 542. Find equivalents for the following : 

1. He examined me closer than my judge had done= 

2. Were I to express my opinion fully = 

3. Henry declared that it was John= 

4. A gentleman who was coming here yesterday = 

5. He arrived in the city and waited on the mayors 

TRANSLATION. 

§ 543. Equivalents are very numerous in the English lan- 
guage. The learner will find it greatly for his advantage to 
write out phrases and sentences from books, and then write op- 
posite to them, as above, equivalent expressions. Indeed, pas- 
sages of considerable length might thus be profitably translated 
from one set of expressions to another, as in the following, from 
Isaac Taylor, on Home Education : 

"It was a brilliant night. " The night was resplendent. 
Beneath a dark and cloudless The mountain, clad in spotless 
vault, the snowy mantle of the white, glistened against the 
mountain shone resplendent deep blue of the sky in the 
with the beams of a full Ital- light of the moon, then at the 
ian moon. The guides lay bur- full, and such as it is seen in 
ied in the deepest sleep. Thus, Italy. The guides were in the 
in the midnight hour, at the profoundest slumber ; and I 



SYNTAX OF COMPOUND SENTENCES. 643 

height of ten thousand feet, I stood solitary, at an elevation 
stood alone, my resting-place a of ten thousand feet, keeping 
pinnacle of rock that towered the midnight watch, on a rocky 
darkly ahove the frozen wil- turret, rearing itself gloomily 
derness from which it isolated out of the icy desert around, 
rose. Below me the yawning Beneath my feet lay the gap- 
clifTs and uproarious desola- ing chasms and wild solitudes 
tion of the glacier presented an of the glacier, reminding me 
appalling picture of dangers of the frightful perils we had 
scarcely gone by. Around and just escaped. On all sides, and 
ahove was a sea of fair, treach- about the upper path we had 
erous snow, whose hidden per- yet to tread, was outspread a 
ils yet lay before us." fallacious expanse of snow." 

Translate the following Old English, written in the fourteenth 
century, into modern English : 

" Then thus in getting riches ye musten flee idleness ; and 
afterward ye shulen usen the riches which ye have get en by 
your wit and by your travail in such manner that men hold you 
not too scarce, ne too sparing, ne fool-large, that is to say, over 
large spender ; for right as men blamen an averitious man on 
account of his scarcity, in the same wise he is to blame that 
spendeth over largely ; ' and therefore,' saith Caton, ' use' (he 
saith) ' the riches that thou hast ygeten in such manner that 
men have no matter ne cause to call thee nother wretch; for 
it is a great shame to a man to hav a poor heart and a rich 
purse.' He saith also, i The goods that thou hast ygeten, use 
them by measure, that is to sayen, spend measureably ; for they 
that solely wasten and despenden the goods that they hav, when 
they have no more proper of 'eir own, that they shapen 'em to 
take the goods of another man.' " — Chaucer. 

Translate the following poetry, written in the fifteenth cen- 
tury, into modern prose : 

" In going to my naked bed, as one that would have slept, 

I heard a wife sing to her child that long before had wept ; 

She sighed sore, and sang full sweet to bring the babe to rest 

That would not cease, but cried still in sucking at her breast. 

She was full weary of her watch, and grieved with her child ; 

She rocked it and rated it until on her it smiled ; 

Then did she say, ' Now have I found the present true to prove, 

The falling out of faithful friends renewing is of love.'" 

R. Edwards. 



644 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER XL 

RULES FOR THE CHOICE OF WORDS AND GRAMMATI- 
CAL CONSTRUCTIONS. 

§ 544. Usage gives the law to language ; usage, 

Quern penes arbitrium est et jus et norma loquendi. 
But we are met by the inquiry, "What kind of usage ? 

Rule I. — It must he reputable usage. Here we are met by 
the inquiry, "What is reputable usage ? To this it may be safely 
answered, it is such usage as is found in the works of those who 
are regarded by the public as reputable authors. 

Rule II. — It must be national usage. It is not enough that 
a word or phrase is used in some county in England, or in some 
section in our own country. It must be the general language 
of the nation at large. 

Rule III. — It must be present usage. Old words are going 
out of use. New words are coming into use. It may not al- 
ways be easy to determine what present usage is. A word lately 
coined may be more safely used in a newspaper than in grave 
history. An obsolete word can be used in poetry when it can 
not be in prose. Pope's rule is a good one : 

" In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold, 
Alike fantastic if too new or old ; 
Be not the first by whom the new is tried, 
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside." 

Rule IV.' — When the usage is divided as to any words and 
phrases, and when one of the expressions is susceptible of more 
than one meaning, while the other admits of only one, the ex- 
pression which is Univocal is to be preferred to the one that is 
equivocal. Thus, proposal for a thing offered or proposed is bet- 
ter than proposition, which has also another meaning. Thus 
we say, "He demonstrated the fifth proposition, and he reject- 
ed the proposal of his friend." So the term primitive, as equiv- 
alent to original, is preferable to primary. The latter is sy- 
nonymous with principal, and is opposed to secondary ; the for- 
mer is equivalent to original, and is opposed to derivative or 
acquired. 



CHOICE OF WORDS AND CONSTRUCTIONS. (345 

Rule Y. — In doubtful cases, Analogy should be regarded. 
Thus it is better to use scarcely as an adverb than to use scarce. 

Rule VI. — When expressions are in other respects equal, that 
should be preferred which is most agreeable to the ear. Thus 
authenticity is preferable to authenticalness. 

Rule VII. — Simplicity should be regarded. Thus accept 
and approve are preferable to accept of and approve of. 

Rule VIII. — Etymology should be regarded. Thus unloose 
should, by analogy, signify to tie, just as to untie signifies to 
loose. To annul and disannul ought, by analogy, to be con- 
traries, though they are used as synonymous. 

Rule IX. — All those expressions which, according to the es- 
tablished rules of the language, either have no meaning or in- 
volve a contradiction, or, according to the fair construction of 
the words, convey a meaning different from the intention of the 
speaker, should be dismissed. Thus, when a person says, u He 
sings a good song" the words strictly imply that the song is 
good; whereas the speaker means to say, "He sings ivell" 

purity. 

§ 545. Purity in the English language implies three things : 

I. That the words be English and not foreign. 

II. That their construction be English. 

III. That the words and phrases employed express the pre- 
cise meaning which custom has assigned to them. 

Accordingly, in three different ways it may be injured : 

1. The words may not be English. This fault has been called 
Barbarism. 

2. The construction of the sentence may not be in the En- 
glish idiom. This fault has the name of Solecism. 

3. The words and phrases may not be employed to express 
the precise meaning which custom has affixed to them. This 
fault is called Impropriety. 

barbarism. 

§ 546. Barbarism may consist in the use of words entirely 
obsolete ; or in the use of words entirely new ; or in the use of 
new formations and derivations. 

1. " Their alliance was sealed by the nuptial of Henry with 



646 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

the daughter of the Italian prince." — Gibbon. Nuptial is not 
in use now, though it formerly was. Nuptials is the proper 
word. Such words as connezity, introitive, fiztious, are bar- 
barisms. 

2. " I got a little scary, and a good deal mad." Here scary 
is improperly used for frightened. 

3. " His hauteur was intolerable." Here the French word 
hauteur is improperly used for the English word haughtiness. 

4. Foreign phrases and foreign idioms, instead of English 
phrases and idioms, are barbarisms. "When, however, we re- 
ceive from a foreign nation an invention or discovery for which 
we have no term, we can then be justified in receiving the name 
along with the thing. In this way we introduce into the lan- 
guage such words as gong, gutta percha. 

SOLECISM. 

§ 547. The violation of any of the rules of syntax is a sole- 
cism. The following are specimens : 

1. " The zeal of the seraphim breaks forth in a becoming 
warmth of sentiments and expressions, as the character which 
is given us of him denotes that generous scorn and intrepidity 
which attends heroic virtue." — Spectator. The solecism here 
consists in using a plural noun for a singular. 

2. " The vice of covetousness is what enters deepest into the 
soul of any other." The solecism here consists in using the su- 
perlative for the comparative. It should be, " The vice of cov- 
etousness is what enters deeper into the soul than any other." 

3. " There is one that will think himself obliged to double his 
kindness and caresses of me." Kindness ought not to be fol- 
lowed by of. 

IMPROPRIETY. 

§ 548. Impropriety is an offense against Lexicography, as 
Barbarism is an offense against Etymology, and as Solecism is 
one against Syntax. 

1. " There is no sort of joy more grateful to the mind of man 
than that which ariseth from the invention of truth." For in- 
vention, discovery should have been used. 

2. " To make such acquirements as fit them for useful avo- 



CHOICE OF WORDS AND CONSTRUCTIONS. (347 

mentions ■." The impropriety here consists in using the word avo- 
cations for vocations. By the latter is meant a " trade," or 
"profession," or " calling ;" by the former, whatever withdraws 
or diverts us from that business. 

3. " The learned well bred, and the well bred sincere ; 

Modestly bold, and humanly severe." — Pope. 

Humanly is here improperly used for humanely. 

4. " No man had ever less friends and more enemies." Less 
refers to quantity, fewer to number. It should be " fewer 
friends." 



EXERCISES UNDER PART VI. 

SYNTACTICAL ANALYSIS. 

§ 549. By Syntactical Analysis is meant that process by 
which the Syntactical Forms are distinguished and exhibited in 
accordance with the preceding syntactical rules. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. Virtue rewards her followers. 

This is a simple sentence. Virtue is the subject ; rewards 
is the predicate ; followers is the object, which enlarges the 
predicate. 

Virtue is a common abstract noun, of the third person, sin- 
gular number, usually of the neuter gender, but here personified 
in the feminine gender. It is both the grammatical subject and 
the logical of the verb rewards ; is in the nominative case. 
(Rule I. A noun used, etc.) 

Rewards is a verb of the weak conjugation, usually called reg- 
ular, in the active voice, indicative mode, present tense, third 
person, singular number, and agrees- with its subject nominative 
virtue. (Rule XXIV. A verb agrees, etc.) 

Her is a personal pronoun, in the genitive case, and limits 
followers. (Rule II. A noun (or a pronoun) used to limit, etc.) 

Followers is a common noun (correlative with leader), in 
the third person, singular number, neuter gender, in the object- 
ive case, and governed by the transitive verb rewards. (Rule 
III. A noun depending, etc.) 

2. He labored faithfully in the cause, and he was successful. 



648 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

This is a compound sentence, and contains two co-ordinate 
sentences. He is the subject of the first sentence ; labored is 
the predicate, which is enlarged hy faithfully. He is the sub- 
ject of the second sentence ; successful is the predicate, taken 
with the copulative verb ivas. 

He is a personal pronoun, of the third person, masculine gen- 
der, of the singular number, in the nominative case. (Rule I. 
A noun used, etc.) 

Labored is a verb of the weak conjugation, in the active 
voice, indicative mode, past tense, third person, singular num- 
ber, and agrees with its subject he. (Rule XXIV. A verb 
agrees, etc.) 

Faithfully is an adverb, from the adjective faithful, and en- 
ters into combination with the verb labored. (Rule XXXVIII. 
Adverbs modify, etc.) 

In is a preposition, showing the relation between cause and 
labored. (Rule XXXIX. Prepositions.) 

The is the definite article, and defines cause. (Rule IX. The 
article the, etc.) 

Cause is a common noun, of the third person, singular num- 
ber, neuter gender, in the objective case, and governed by in, 
(Rule XXXIX. Prepositions.) 

And is a copulative conjunction, connecting two propositions. 
(Rule XL. Conjunctions, etc.) 

He as before, and is nominative to ivas. (Rule I. A noun 
used, etc.) 

Was is a verb, from the substantive verb am, ivas, been. It 
is in the indicative mode, past tense, third person, singular num- 
ber, and agrees with its subject nominative. (Rule XXIV. A 
verb agrees, etc.) 

Successful is an adjective of the positive degree, and is the 
predicate after was. (Rule V., note I. Adjectives are used in 
two ways, etc.) 

3. Foul craven ! exclaimed Ivanhoe ; does he blench from the 
helm when the wind blows highest ? 

This contains a declarative sentence, an interrogative sen- 
tence, and an adverbial sentence. The last two constitute a 
compound sentence (complex), of which the last is subordinate 
to the other. 



SYNTACTICAL ANALYSIS. 649 

Foul is an adjective in the positive degree, and belongs to 
craven. (Rule V. Adjectives, etc.) 

Craven is a common noun, and is here a part of an exclama- 
tion. (Rule L, note IY. A noun in the nominative, etc.) 

Exclaimed is a verb in the past tense, in the active voice, 
from the transitive modern verb exclaim, and agrees with its 
subject nominative Ivanlioe. (Rule XXIY. A verb, etc.) 

Ivanhoe is a proper noun, in the third person, singular num- 
ber, and is nominative to exclaimed, according to Rule I. 

Does blench is a verb in the interrogative form, from the 
modern or weak verb blench, in the indicative mode, present 
tense, third person, singular number, according to Rule XXIY. 
A verb, etc. 

He is a personal pronoun, in the third person, singular num- 
ber, neuter gender, and nominative to does blench. (Rule I. 
A noun used, etc.) 

From is a preposition, and expresses the relation between 
blench and helm. (Rule XXIX. Prepositions, etc.) 

Helm is a common noun, in the third person, singular num- 
ber, neuter gender, and is governed by the preposition from. 
(Rule III., note IY.) 

When is an adverb of time, and modifies the verb blows. 
(Rule XXXYIII. Adverbs modify, etc.) 

The is the definite article, and limits the noun wind. (Rule 
YIII. The article, etc.) 

Blows is a verb, from the ancient verb bloiv, blew, blown. 
It is in the indicative mode, present tense, third person, singu- 
lar number, and agrees with its subject nominative ivind. 
(Rule XXIY. A verb agrees, etc.) 

Highest is an adjective in the superlative degree, and is a 
predicate with the verb blows. (Rule XXIX. The substantive 
verb, etc.) 

4. High on a throne of royal state, which far 

Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Ind, 
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand 
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, 
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised to that 
Bad eminence. — Milton. 

This period is a compound sentence, composed of as many 
sentences as there are verbs. The principal sentence, in which 



650 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

the others are included, is a declarative sentence. The subor- 
dinate sentences are, the first, an adjective sentence ; the sec- 
ond, an adverbial sentence. 

High is an adjective in the positive degree, and qualifies Sa- 
tan, some would say, but in reality comes after sat in construc- 
tion, to malie a part of the predicate. (Rule XXIX., note.) 

On is a preposition, showing the relation between sat and 
throne, and governing throne. (Rule XXXIX. Prepositions, 
etc.) 

A is an indefinite article, used according to Rule VIII. The 
article, etc. 

Throne is a common noun, in the singular number, neuter 
gender, in the objective case, and governed by the preposition 
on. (Rule II., note IV. A noun depending, etc.) 

Of is a preposition, showing the relation between throne and 
state, and governs state. (Rule XXXIX. Prepositions, etc.) 

Royal is an adjective, and qualifies state. (Rule V. Adjec- 
tives, etc.) 

State is a common noun, of the third person, singular num- 
ber, objective case, neuter gender, and is governed by of. (Rule 
II. A noun, etc.) Let the pupil finish the analysis. 

PROMISCUOUS EXAMPLES IN CORRECT SYNTAX FOR 

ANALYSIS. 

§ 550. The Learner is expected to analyze all or a part of 
the following examples, and particularly to give the rules for 
the words in Italics : 

1. " His power and the number of his adherents declining 
daily, he consented to a partition of the kingdom." — North 
American Revieiu. 

2. " The fire-places were of a truly patriarchal magnitude, 
where the whole family, old and young, master and servant, 
black and white, nay, even the very cat and dog, enjoyed a com- 
munity of privilege, and had each a prescriptive right to a cor- 
ner." — "W. Irving. 

3. u On, then, all Frenchmen that have hearts in their bod- 
ies!" — Carlisle. 

4. " The Bastile is still to take — to be taken." 

5. " Oh ! that I could but baptize every heart with the sym- 



SYNTACTICAL ANALYSIS. 651 

pathetic feeling of what the city-pent child is condemned to lose ; 
how blank, and poor, and joyless must be the images which fill 
its infant bosom to that of the country one, whose mind 

" Will be a mansion for all lovely forms, 
His memory be a dwelling-place 
For all sweet sounds and harmonies." — W. Howitt. 

To that is an idiomatic expression occasionally met with, but 
it should not be encouraged. By filling out the ellipsis we get 
the more correct expression. 

6. " All morning since nine there has been a cry, To the Bas- 
tile!" — Carlisle. How do you parse to the Bastile? 

7. " Bethink thee, William, of thy fault, 

Thy pledge and broken oath ; 
And give me back my maiden vow, 

And give me back my troth." — Mallet. 

8. "With a callous heart there can be no genius in the im- 
agination or wisdom in the mind ; and therefore the prayer, 
with equal truth and sublimity, says, ' Incline your hearts unto 
wisdom.' Resolute thoughts find words for themselves, and 
make their own vehicle. Impression and expression are rela- 
tive ideas. He who feels deeply will express strongly. The 
language of slight sensations is naturally feeble and superficial.' 5 
— Sir Philip Francis. No and or are substituted for neither 
and nor. 

9. "I must not close my letter without giving you one prin- 
cipal event of my history, which was, that (in the course of my 
late tour) I set out one morning before five d ^ clock, the moon 
shining through a dark and misty autumnal air, and got to the 
sea-coast time enough to be at the sun's levee. I saw the 
clouds and dark vapors open gradually to the right and left, roll- 
ing over one another in great smoky wreaths, and the tide (as 
it flowed gently in upon the sands), first whitening, then slight- 
ly tinged with gold and blue ; and all at once a little line of in- 
sufferable brightness, that (before I can write these five words) 
was grown to half an orb, and now to a whole one too glorious 
to be distinctly seen. It is very odd it makes no figure on pa- 
per ; yet I shall remember it as long as the sun, or, at least, as 
long as I shall endure. I wonder whether any body ever saw 
it before ? I hardly believe it." — Gray. 



652 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

Upon what does to be depend ? What kind of a phrase is all 
at once ? How is sun parsed ? 

10. " To the Right Honorable the Earl of Chesterfield : 

" My Lord, — I have been lately informed by the proprietor of 
the World that two papers, in which my Dictionary is recom- 
mended to the public, were written by your lordship. To be so 
distinguished is an honor which, being very little accustomed 
to favors from the great, I know not well how to receive, or in 
what terms to acknowledge. 

"When upon some slight encouragement I first visited your 
lordship, I was overpowered, like the rest of mankind, by the en- 
chantment of your address, and could not forbear to wish that 
I might boast myself le vainqueur du vainqueur de la terre; 
that I might obtain that regard for which I saw the world 
contending. But I found my attendance so little encouraged, 
that neither pride nor modesty would suffer me to continue it. 
When I had once addressed your lordship in public, I had ex- 
hausted all the art of pleasing which a retired and uncourtly 
scholar can possess. I had done all that I could ; and no man 
is well pleased to have his all neglected, be it ever so little. 

" Seven years, my lord, have now passed since I waited in 
your outward room, or was repulsed from your door; during 
which time I have been pushing on my work through difficul- 
ties of which it is useless to complain, and have brought it at 
last to the verge of publication without one word of encourage- 
ment or one smile of favor. Such treatment I did not expect, 
for I never had a patron before. 

" The shepherd in Yirgil grew acquainted with Love, and 
found him a native of the rocks. 

" Is not a patron, my lord, one who can look with unconcern 
on a man struggling for life in the water, and then encumbers 
him with help? The notice which you have been pleased to 
take of my labors, had it been early, had been kind ; but it has 
been delayed till I am indifferent, and can not enjoy it ; till I 
am solitary, and can not impart it ; till I am known, and do not 
want it. I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess ob- 
ligations where no benefit has been received, or to be unwilling 
that the public should consider me as owing that to a patron 
which Providence has enabled me to do for myself. 



SYNTACTICAL ANALYSIS. 653 

" Having carried on my work thus far with so little obliga- 
tion to any favorer of learning, I shall not be disappointed, though 
I should conclude it, if less be possible, with less ; for I have 
been long wakened from that dream of hope in which I once 
boasted myself with so much exultation. 

" My lord, your lordship's most humble and most obedient 
servant, Samuel Johnson." 

11. " Triumphal arch I that fill'st the sky 

When storms begin to part, 
I ask not proud philosophy 

To tell me what thou art." — Campbell. 

12. "St. Agnes 1 s Eve ! A bitter chill it was ! 

The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold." — Keats. 

13. " Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one's horse 
when he is leaping." — Guesses at Truth. 

14. " Who builds a church to God, and not to fame, 

Will never mark the marble with his name." — Pope. 

15. " Some men so dislike the dust kicked up by the genera- 
tion they belong to, that, being unable to pass, they lag behind 
it." — Guesses at Truth. 

16. " The most mischievous liars are those who keep on the 
verge of truth." — Ibidem. 

17. "Go search it there, where to be born and die, 

Of rich and poor makes all the history." 

18. " There needs no other proof that happiness is the most 
wholesome moral atmosphere, and that in which the immortal- 
ity of man is destined ultimately to thrive, than the elevation 
of soul, the religious aspiration which attends the first assurance, 
the first sober assurance of true love." — Deerbrook. 

19. " It was opened by a young girl of thirteen ox fourteen" 
— Dickens. 

20. " To Brighton the Pavilion lends a lath and plaster 
grace." 

21. What do you understand by meum and tuum ? Meum 
is all I can get. Tuum is all others can prevent me from get- 
ting. — Punch. 

22. "When I say that the " rose smells sweet," and " I smell 
the rose," the word smell has two meanings. In the latter sen- 
tence, I speak of a certain sensation in my own mind ; in the 



654 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

former, of a certain quality in the flower which produces the 
sensation. Here the word smell is applied with equal propriety 
to hoth. 

23. " Away went Gilpin, and away 

Went Gilpin's hat and wig ; 
He lost them sooner than at first, 
For why? they were too big." — Cowper. 

24. Did you never observe (says Mr. (xray, in a letter to a 
friend), while rocking winds are piping loud, that pause, as 
the gust is recollecting itself, and rising upon the ear in a shrill 
and plaintive note, like the swell of an iEolian harp ? I do as- 
sure you there is nothing in the world so like the voice of a spirit. 

25. The foundations of his fame are laid deep and imperish- 
able, and the superstructure is already erected. — New England- 
er. Explain the idiom. See § 513." 

26. The language of the moral law is, man shall not kill ; 
the language of the law of nature is, a stone will fall to the 
ground. — "Whewell. Explain the difference in use of the 
words shall and will. 

27. "What signify to me the beautiful discourses and praises 
one lavishes on one's self and one's friends ? — Lamartine. 

28. Spirits are not finely touched 
But to fine issues : nor Nature never lends 
The smallest scruple of her excellence, 
But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines 
Herself the glory of a creditor ; 

Both thanks and use. — Measure for Measure. 

Justified on the ground of ancient usage. 

29. The affections are to the intellect what the forge is to the 
metal ; it is they which temper and shape it to all great pur- 
poses : soften, strengthen, and purify it.* — Mrs. Jameson. 

30. Plato in his Cratylus, and Aristotle in his Organon, have 
laid the foundations of the philosophy of language. The specu- 
lations of the first bear, when well understood, upon the highest 
problems of the philosophy of language ; the categories and the 
definitions of the second give the logical foundation of our gram- 
matical system, and establish by themselves the great principle 
that is the immediate produce and expression, as it were, the 
mirror of logic and thought. — C. C. S. Bunsen. 



SYNTACTICAL ANALYSIS. 655 

31. In poetry, when the letter is false, the spirit is often pro- 
foundest wisdom. — W. E. Channing. 

32. Hence arises the distinction of subjective and objective 
truth. The former we consider as existing in ourselves, the 
latter as existing in objects out of ourselves. 

33. Malevolti had noticed these splenetic efforts ; but though 
a man of fiery character, and proud enough to dare the proud- 
est he who ruffled his complacency by a look, etc. In what 
case is he, and how used ? 

34. But the only reliable and certain evidence of devotion to 
the Constitution is, to abstain, on the one hand, from violating 
it, and to repel, on the other, all attempts to violate it. It is 
only by faithfully performing these high duties that the Consti- 
tution can be preserved, and with it the Union. — J. C. Calhoun. 
"What part of the last sentence does it represent ? 

35. And such, Mr. President, was the high estimate which I 
formed of his (Mr. Calhoun's) transcendent talents, at the end 
of his service in the executive department under the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Monroe, that, had he been translated to the high- 
est office in the government, I should have felt perfectly assured 
that, under his auspices, the honor, the prosperity, and the glory 
of our country would have been safely preserved. — H. Clay. 

36. "VYe shall delight to speak of him (Mr. Calhoun) to those 
who are coming after us. "When the time shall come that we 
shall go, one after another, in succession, to our graves, we shall 
carry with us a deep impression of his genius and character, his 
honor and integrity, his amiable deportment in private life, and 
the purity of his exalted patriotism. — D. "Webster. 

SYNTHESIS OF SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

§ 551. 1. Compose a simple declarative sentence with a naked 
subject and a naked predicate. 

2. Compose a sentence with an enlarged subject. 

3. Compose a sentence with an enlarged predicate. 

4. Compose an interrogative sentence, and also an exclama- 
tory sentence. 

5. Compose three compound co-ordinate sentences, namely, 
one Copulative, one Adversative, and one Disjunctive. See 
§ 537. 



656 SYNTACTICAL FORMS. 

6. Compose a compound (complex) sentence in which there 
shall be a subordinate Substantive sentence. See § 538. 

7. Compose a compound (complex) sentence in which there 
shall be an Adjective sentence. See § 538. 

8. Compose a compound (complex) sentence in which there 
shall be an adverbial sentence. 

9. Compose a succession of sentences which shall exhibit the 
different varieties of Adverbial sentences. See § 538. 

DIRECTION TO THE PUPIL. 

Let the pupil, commencing ivith the first rule under Syn- 
tactical Forms, compose sentences, longer or shorter, illus- 
trating each rule and each note in succession, according to 
the following model. 

If the pupil finds himself unable to compose sentences which 
will illustrate all these rules and notes, he may be at liberty 
occasionally to select examples. 

The author attaches great importance to this exercise. 

MODEL. 

Rule I. — The Greeks surpassed the Romans in their love of 
the beautiful, but the Eomans surpassed the Greeks in their 
love of right. 

Note I. — Lord Raglan having died at Sebastopol, General 
Simpson was appointed his successor. 

Note II. — Oh the ingratitude of man ! How ready is he to 
forget his benefactors ! 

Note III. — The leaders of that party — how despicable they 
are! 

Note IY. — As the army reached the summit of the mountain, 
s shout was heard from thousands, The sea ! the sea ! 

Note V. — The Revere House. The Winthrop House. 

Note VI. — To whom thus Zephon, answering scorn with scorn. 

Milton. 

Note VII. — Who discovered the laws which governed the 
planets in their orbits ? Kepler. Who demonstrated the truth 
of those laws ? Newton. 



PART VII. 

RHETORICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



CHAPTER I. 

DEFINITIONS. 

§ 552. Rhetoric, Greek pr}~opuir\, from prjrop, a speaker, has 
nearly the same signification as eloquence, Latin eloquentia, 
from eloquor, to speak out. It may be described as the Art of 
speaking well ; and, when applied to written composition, as the 
Art of writing well. And since persuasion is often the principal 
object of the speaker or of the writer in the higher specimens of 
the art, it may be more exactly denned as the Art of using lan- 
guage well for the purpose of persuasion. This may be ac- 
cepted as a sufficiently correct definition of the term, though it 
falls short of the meaning often attached to it, since it does not 
include several varieties of composition in which persuasion is 
not aimed at, but which in their character are rhetorical. 

But, in order to know adequately what true Rhetoric or elo- 
quence is, we must contemplate it under a threefold view, 
namely, first, in its origin in the soul of the speaker ; second, as 
it comes forth in living sounds from his lips ; third, as it appears 
on the printed page. The second belongs to elocution, which 
does not fall within the limits of the present work ; though of 
course, in laying down rules for the use of language, we lay 
down rules, to a certain extent, for speaking as well as writing 
it. Our business is chiefly with the third. The first is noticed 
only in its bearings upon the third, to which, indeed, it has the 
same relation as the fountain to the stream. 

ELOQUENCE IN ITS ORIGIN IN THE SOUL. 

§ 553. Eloquence is the language of emotion. It is such 
an expression of emotion felt by a speaker, that his hearers, 
under its influence, feel the same emotion. 

Tt 



658 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

According to this definition, where there is no emotion there 
can be no eloquence ; for evidently that can not be expressed 
which has no existence. It likewise follows that, whatever 
other qualifications a speaker may possess, as long as he is de- 
ficient in emotion he must be deficient in eloquence. He may 
be philosophic, instructive, and even attractive, but not an elo- 
quent speaker. But if, like James Otis, the orator of New En- 
gland in the days of colonial dependence, he has a " soul of fire," 
he may be expected to kindle a flame in the breasts of others, 

CONTINUED EMOTION. 

§ 554. Moreover, for the highest eloquence there must be con- 
tinued emotion. There may, indeed, on some occasion, be a 
sudden burst of overmastering feeling, as when one rises in de- 
bate to repel a personal attack, which may express itself in the 
most eloquent language ; but for a sustained, effective, and per- 
suasive eloquence, there must be a sustained feeling during 
both the meditation and delivery. An emotion thus continued 
for a length of time will, by the law of association, collect all 
those thoughts, reasonings, images, and illustrations which are 
related to the emotion, the subject, and the occasion ; will ren- 
der them vivid in the mind of the speaker, and help him to ex- 
press them in vivid language. What was it but a permanent 
strong emotion that enabled Demosthenes to sustain his elo- 
quence for years against Philip ? "What but a permanent emo- 
tion could have sustained the eloquence of Cicero during the de- 
livery of his orations against Catiline ? "What but long-contin- 
ued emotion, through years of opposition, could have sustained 
the eloquence of Wilberforce, until it persuaded the British na- 
tion to put an end to the slave trade ? The light of truth, un- 
like the light of the sun, moves slowly. The ardor of convic- 
tion is often but slowly transfused from the soul of the speaker 
into the souls of others to make them burn with a kindred glow. 
A community is often but a refractory substance to deal with. 
There are so many combinations of error, prejudice, and passion 
in the public mind, that it is not easily reduced to a oneness of 
thought and feeling with that of the orator. The heart of the 
public is so mineralized (to borrow an allusion from metallic 
ores), that nothing but the continued as well as intense ignition 



ELOQUENCE IN ITS ORIGIN. 659 

of his heart, brought closely into contact with it, can melt it 
from its various affinities into a flow of one common emotion. 

THE SOURCE OF EMOTION. 

§ 555. It should he added, that emotion in the soul of the or- 
ator must spring from the subject itself, and not from any thing 
extraneous and accidental. A man may rise in a public assem- 
bly under the influence of some strong emotion, as of bashful- 
ness, of despair, or of love of praise, and find that an emotion of 
this kind, arising from something extraneous to the subject, only 
disqualifies him for speaking, by withdrawing his attention from 
the subject, and fixing it upon that which is extraneous. But 
when, like Patrick Henry, his whole soul is so absorbed in the 
subject at issue that it " haunts him like a passion," in solitude 
as well as in the assembly; when, in his deep devotion to a 
cause like his, he can say, " Give me liberty or give me death !" 
like him he will be eloquent. Like him he will find that the 
common heart of his audience will respond in strong throbbings 
to his own. 

EMOTION REGULATED BY JUDGMENT. 

§ 556. And, further, the emotion in the soul of the speaker, 
springing from a view of the subject, should be regulated by a 
sound judgment. It should be so strong as to invigorate the 
other faculties of the mind, but not so overwhelming as to dis- 
turb them in their movements. There is a degree of excite- 
ment bordering on derangement, under which the orator may 
sometimes speak with great effect, like MacBriar in Old Mortal- 
ity. In this state of mind, he is possessed by his subject rather 
than possesses it. And though he may, within certain limits, 
carry his audience along with him on the " seraph wings of ec- 
stasy," there is danger that, taking leave of his reason and his 
audience, he may run into the extravagance of mere rant and 
impotent passion. Emotion must string his nerves and " imp 
his eagle wings," but judgment must direct his flight. 

EMOTION UNITED WITH THE LOVE OF TRUTH. 

§ 557. >fr looking at eloquence in its origin in the soul of the 
orator, wa find that it is closely related to the love of truth. 



660 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

Truth is the grand instrument for making others feel as he feels. 
A love of truth must animate the orator in all his investigations, 
as well as in the delivery of his opinions, or he will not tax his 
mind to the full and successful exertions of his powers. A mind 
that has a strong affinity for truth can first discover and then 
unfold it to others, when another mind, influenced only by the 
love of gain, or of reputation, or of office, would fail. Truth is 
the natural invigorator and nourisher of the mind. He who 
loves truth is the better qualified to present it to others in such 
a way that they too will feel its influence. Moreover, when an 
orator evinces to an audience that he has a strong love of truth 
in his soul, he has a deeper hold of that audience, because he 
has their confidence, than he can have, who, by falsehood, is 
skilled to " make the worse appear the better reason." What 
was it but the love of truth that gave the Apostle Paul power 
over his audience ? "With what candor and gentleness does he 
treat the arguments and the prejudices of his hearers, that by 
all means he should win some to the knowledge of the truth ! 
It was the love of truth, and not the desire of victory, that form- 
ed the living principle of his argumentation, as it was the rul- 
ing principle of his life. As his Master came to bear witness to 
the truth, so Paul felt, in his fervent love of the truth, that he 
was set for the defense of the Gospel, the sum and substance 
of the truth. 

EMOTION UNITED WITH STRONG SENSE OF RIGHT. 

§ 558. Moreover, there must be in the soul of the orator a 
strong sense of right, to qualify him to enforce what is right 
upon others. There are men whose want of moral sensibility is 
such, that they can look with indifference upon some atrocious 
crime, as they can likewise upon some glorious act of virtue. 
Their pulse neither quickens with the flush of anger in the one 
case, nor with the generous glow of admiration in the other. 
Such men can not be eloquent in those cases in which there 
must be strong appeals to the sense of right and wrong, that 
deep principle in the common heart of man, which no orator can 
safely neglect. 

"What was it that fired the eloquence of Burke, when, on a 
certain occasion, it shook the walls that confined it with anath- 



DEFINITIONS. 661 

emas almost superhuman ? Was it not the deep sense of vio- 
lated right, the strong abhorrence of that " geographical moral- 
ity" which characterized the Governor of India and his min- 
ions ? How could he have described the tortures inflicted by 
his orders, the flagrant injustice committed by his authority; 
how could he have painted " agonizing nature vibrating in hor- 
rid suspense between life and destruction," and, in the climax 
of the crimes, " death introduced into the very sources of life," 
in such a way that a " convulsive sensation of horror, and af- 
fright, and smothered execration pervaded all the male part of 
the hearers, and audible sobbings and screams, with tears and 
fainting, the female," unless his own moral sensibilities had been 
deeply excited ? "Without his strong hatred of vice, which is no 
other than a passionate love of virtue, how could he have made 
the accused party bear testimony the strongest ever borne to the 
powers of any orator in any country ? " For half an hour," said 
Mr. Hastings, " I looked up at the orator in a reverie of wonder, 
and during that space I actually felt myself the most culpable 
man on earth;" adding, however, " but I recurred to my own 
bosom, and there found a consciousness that consoled me under 
all I heard and all I suffered." It is an ancient opinion that 
none but a good man can be an eminent orator. The opinion is 
a sound one, for this reason, if for no other, that none but a 
good man can have that hatred of vice and wrong which are no 
other than a passionate love of right and virtue. Lacking good- 
ness, he lacks the highest inspiration and the most powerful in- 
strumentality. 

THE END AIMED AT. 

§ 559. But, in order to speak with effect, it is necessary that 
the orator should have distinctly in his mind the end for which 
he speaks. This end must stand forth in the field of his vision 
distinct and prominent, as the one thing to be thought of dur- 
ing the meditation and delivery of his discourse ; as the one 
thing to be held up before his hearers. What he says, he is to 
regard as valuable only as it is a means adapted to promote that 
end. Whatever he regards as foreign to this instrumentality, 
he rejects, however beautiful in thought or expression it may 
be. To accomplish this end; to conduct his hearers to the point 



662 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

to which he wishes to lead them, he endeavors to fill their minds 
with the same thoughts and feelings which fill his mind ; to link 
in his ideas on the subject in hand with their habitual ideas 
concerning duty, moral excellence, the public weal, and personal 
happiness. "Whether in the cause of justice at the bar, or in the 
cause of the public weal in the deliberative assembly, or in the 
cause of religion in the pulpit, he must have a distinct end in 
his mind, and distinct ideas related to this end, and a distinct 
mode by which he endeavors to connect his ideas with their 
ideas, and thus to bring them to act with him. This was what 
distinguished the younger Pitt. He always had a distinct end 
in speaking related to distinct ideas or principles thought out in 
his mind, which, in their application, became what was called 
The Pitt System. 

GOOD SENSE. 

§ 560. Another requisite is, that the orator should have good 
sense in adapting the means which he employs to the end. He 
must not only have in his mind truths that have a bearing upon 
the subject in hand, but those truths which have a bearing upon 
the minds of his hearers. He must, therefore, fully understand 
the state of their feelings, the degree of their knowledge, the 
strength of their prejudices and predilections ; otherwise he wil] 
fail of accomplishing his end, from not applying the appropriate 
means. All eloquence is relative. It must be related to the 
audience, to the time, to the place, to the occasion. The speak- 
er must not mistake his office, which is to apply truth, for that 
of the philosopher, which is to discover truth. He must have 
that ready perception of the proprieties of the occasion, that tact 
in seizing hold of any relationship between him and his au- 
dience, which Paul manifested when he made the declaration, 
" I am a Pharisee." Burke, as a philosophic statesman, in ad- 
dressing the House of Commons, sometimes "thought of con- 
vincing while they thought of dining;" while Charles Townsend, 
a practical man, could always, in the language of the former, 
" hit the House between wind and water." The former, indeed, 
receives the applause of posterity ; but the latter was successful 
in carrying his measures through Parliament. 



DEFINITIONS. 



663 



DISTINCT AND VIVID CONCEPTION. 

§ 561. Besides good sense, in addressing his audience, the or- 
ator must, for the highest excellence in his art, have the power 
of distinct and vivid conception, in order that he may communi- 
cate a distinct impression of the objects which he describes. It 
is only when he sees the objects in the past, the distant, and the 
future, that he can so describe them to others ; that they can 
see them as in a picture, in their true forms and colors, as if 
they were actually before their eyes. Leonardo da Vinci had in 
his mind certain vivid and distinct conceptions of the Last Sup- 
per, which, with his pencil, by light, and shade, and color, he 
exhibited, in his celebrated painting in the Cathedral of Milan, 
in forms so true to nature that the spectator could hardly resist 
the impression that he was actually gazing upon breathing bod- 
ies. What are light, and shade, and color to the painter in one 
of the fine arts, such are words, and tones, and gestures to the 
orator in another and a higher art. By means of them, his own 
conceptions, as if pictured, are visibly set forth to the view of 
others. He who has the power of picturesque description has 
an advantage over him who has not : first, in his power of se- 
curing attention ; secondly, in his power of making himself un- 
derstood ; thirdly, in awakening a deep interest in the speaker, 
such as he could not awaken if he trusted to dull generalities. 
It was this power of picturesque description which gave a charm 
to the eloquence of our countryman, Fisher Ames : " Experi- 
ence," he says, "has already been the prophet of events, and 
the cries of our future victims have already reached us. The 
western inhabitants are not a silent and uncomplaining sacri- 
fice. The voice of humanity issues from the shade of their wil- 
derness. It exclaims, that ' while one hand is held out to re- 
ject the treaty, the other grasps a tomahawk !' It summons 
our imagination to the scenes that will open. Indeed, it is no 
great effort of the imagination to conceive that events so near 
are already begun. I can fancy that I listen to the yells of sav- 
age vengeance and the shrieks of torture. Already they seem 
to sigh in the west wind ; already they mingle with every echo 
from the mountains." Every sentence here contains a distinct 
image ; and the whole is so picturesque, that we can see the 
whole as if on canvas. 



664 RHETORICAL FORMS. 



A STRONG DESIRE TO EXPRESS EMOTION. 

§ 562. Moreover, there must be a strong desire to express to 
others the emotions which the speaker feels. Strong feeling 
naturally seeks to express itself in words ; for in doing this man 
finds relief, just as the brute creation show forth pleasure or pain 
by inarticulate sounds. In the intercourse of private life, men, 
under the influence of any emotion, ever seek to pour out their 
thoughts into the ear of private friendship, or in a more public 
way give vent to their feelings. Such is the strength of the so- 
cial principle, that speak the orator must. He is a man of high 
sympathies. He has thoughts which he longs to communicate 
to his audience, that they may feel as he feels. He speaks be- 
cause he has something which he wishes to say, and not be- 
cause he wishes to say something. And when, under the influ- 
ence of his emotions, he rises to address an audience, in his 
strong sympathy with his hearers, whom he wishes to think as 
he does, he is prepared to appeal directly to their hearts. Or if 
he uses the forms of dialectics, it is " logic set on fire" by the 
ardor of conviction. And if he possess the other attributes of 
the orator, thoughts will force their way from the well-spring of 
his heart up to his lips, where words, " like nimble servitors," 
will skip into their places to supply his wants. 

A STRONG WILL. 

§ 563. Another attribute in the soul of the orator is a strong 1 
will, which shows itself in a fixed determination not to give up 
the cause which he has espoused, if he believes it to be a good 
one. Firmness of purpose has the same advantage over feeble- 
ness and fluctuation, in eloquence, that it has in any other de- 
partment of human action. Let one come into an assembly de- 
termined, at all events, to carry that measure ; let him act and 
speak in accordance with this high resolve, and the impression 
produced upon the audience will not only be deep, but controlling. 

Tenacem propositi virum 
Non civium ardor prava jubentium 
Non vultus instantis Tyranni, 
Mente quatit solida. 

The stormy waves of debate roll round him, dashing upon him 



DEFINITIONS, QQ5 

without moving him. The outbreakings of popular phrensy, 
the darkening frown of the tyrant, terrify him not, shake him 
not from his firm purpose. 

The influence which a man of a strong will has upon others 
sometimes amounts almost to fascination. He is to them a 
master-spirit, to be obeyed ; a controlling genius, to be followed. 
All the energies of his nature, his reason and good sense, his 
imagination and taste, his social affections and passions, his 
voice and his hand, stand ready to obey the bidding of his will, 
and, as a consequence, others obey it too. An unconquerable 
will gave a power to the speeches of Lord Chatham in Parlia- 
ment far beyond what their mere logical argumentation could 
have done. Men yielded to him because they saw that he 
would not swerve from his purpose. Opposition shrunk away 
because it was unavailing. Men sympathized with his mental 
energy, and willed and acted as he willed. 

The orator must have a generous, confiding spirit, if he wish- 
es his audience to have the same spirit toward him. He must 
have a quick perception of the beautiful in nature and in art, 
since, in captivating the minds of his hearers, he must instru- 
mentally use the beautiful as well as the true. He must have 
a heart full of kindly affections toward his audience and toward 
his species, if he expects his audience and men around him to 
give him their kindly regards and their influence, their determ- 
inations and their votes, if they have votes to give. The mind 
of the orator always kindles into a sympathetical feeling when 
brought into contact with the minds of an audience. 

Having seen what eloquence is in its matter, we can the bet- 
ter understand what it is in its forms and its origin. Having 
seen what eloquence is in its relation to the soul of the orator, 
we are prepared to understand what it is in its external mani- 
festation, particularly what it is when expressed in language, 
whether written or spoken. 

RHETORICAL FORMS. 

§ 564. Language being, in general, the image of the soul of 
man, Rhetorical Forms are those peculiar forms of language 
which express or image forth the soul of the orator, as dis- 
tinguished from other men ; or they are those forms of Ian- 



6Q6 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

guage which he uses for the purpose of bringing' the minds 
of others into the same state with his own mind. 

Rhetoric, it is true, employs the whole power of language for 
the purpose of persuasion : the power of Grammatical forms, of 
Logical forms, of Poetical forms, and also of its own peculiar 
forms. Logic would be contented with one principal form, 
namely, the Proposition in its various uses ; and for this, Gram- 
mar would be contented to furnish two parts of speech, the Sub- 
stantive and the Verb. But the form of a sentence that will 
satisfy logic, rhetoric will reject as tame and unexpressive, and 
demand what is vivid and striking. Logic says, " My will is 
that you should come. 5 ' Ehetoric says, vividly, " Come !" Logic 
says, " Men are ungrateful." Ehetoric exclaims, "0 the ingrat- 
itude of men !" Logic says, " I wish to know who thou art." 
Ehetoric calls out, "Who art thou?" 

THE VALUE OF RHETORICAL FORMS. 

§ 565. Ehetorical forms are of great value as the Medium of 
Intellection, whether truth is to be communicated by the 
tongue or the pen. Thus an abstract truth, which is but shad- 
owy in conception, and difficult of description, becomes distinct 
by being associated with some sensible object which illustrates 
it, just as a diagram illustrates a truth in Geometry, The hu- 
man mind has to lean upon matter. In the communication and 
the reception of abstract truth, it has to depend largely upon 
figurative language drawn from the material world. Thus those 
rhetorical forms which may be regarded as equivalent to what 
is called Figurative Language furnish the means to the speaker 
and to the hearer, the one for communicating, and the other for 
receiving an idea, however refined or abstract it may be. By 
this aid, in bringing them into communication with each other, 
the two can become one in thought, feeling, and purpose. The 
watch-word in battle or in revolution often derives much of its 
magical power from a sentiment expressed in some rhetorical 
form, which, passing from lip to lip, carries the same feeling 
from heart to heart. Thus " England expects every man to do 
his duty !" which had such power in winning the battle of Tra- 
falgar, is a rhetorical form, called Personification. 



DEFINITIONS. (367 

THE AESTHETIC A L VALUE. 

§ 566. A familiarity with rhetorical forms is of great ,estheti- 
cal value to the linguist, not only because it assists him to per- 
ceive the import and heauty of a thought, which would other- 
wise be concealed under its drapery, but also because it enables 
him at pleasure to produce similar forms in their beauty and 
force. Language is, to a great extent, deflected from its literal 
to a figurative use. He who is dull in understanding and ap- 
plying it in its figurative use, can perceive and communicate 
only a small part of its meaning. "Words arranged in rhetorical 
forms he can read in books, but to him they are dead forms. 
He can employ them in his own writings, but it may be only 
to disgust others. Said a sensible man, somewhat deficient in 
taste, " A figure is to me an edged tool, with which I always 
wound myself." 

THE INTERFERENCE OF RHETORIC WITH GRAMMAR 

AND LOGIC. 

§ 567. Moreover, Rhetoric, by its disturbing force, often in- 
terferes with the Grammatical construction and the Log- 
ical significance of sentences. He, therefore, who does not 
understand that interference, can not be a good grammarian or 
a good logician. Many a case of anomalous syntax can be ex- 
plained only upon rhetorical grounds. Many an error has gained 
currency from mistaking rhetoric for logic. " Take, eat ; this 
is my body." Is this a Logical form, or is it a Rhetorical form ? 
In the Roman Catholic faith it is the first ; in the Protestant, 
the second. 

The question may often arise, Whether, in a given sen- 
tence, there is a rhetorical form ? Now it must be conceded 
that it is not always easy to answer this question. If you go 
back to the most ancient usage of a given word, you would per- 
haps decide that it is figurative in its application ; whereas, if 
you consult only present use, it is plain and literal. The same 
word may, therefore, be regarded as tropical by one person who 
goes back to its origin, and not tropical by another who does not 
thus go back to its original meaning. The number of radical 
words in a language is comparatively few, and are chiefly ap- 



668 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

plied to physical objects. As men found the stock of their ideas 
increasing, instead of inventing new terms to describe them, 
they applied old words with an extended or changed meaning, 
or, what is the same thing, used them figuratively. In this 
Vvay the great body of words in a language have, in one stage 
of their history or another, been used tropically. The word im- 
agination, derived from image, a term applied to a sensible ob- 
ject, was, on its first application to a mental faculty or opera- 
tion, tropical. But it ceased to be tropical when it had been 
used so long that its secondary meaning became indissolubly 
fixed as the principal one, or, indeed, to most minds, as its only 
one. Imagination can not now be considered as a figurative 
term. It has lost its tropical meaning, at least to the mass of 
readers, if not to the scholar. What is true of imagination is 
true of vast many words. They can be regarded as faded met- 
aphors. The investigation of their history revives their original 
meaning and their tropical application. 

FIGURES OF SPEECH. 

§ 568. One class of Rhetorical Forms are called Figures of 
Speech. These are divided into Figures of Words and Figures 
of Thought. 

Figures of Words are called Tropes, from the Greek rpena, 
to turn. A Trope is a word turned from its original or literal 
signification to another, on account of some resemblance. Tropes 
are founded on the relation which one object bears to another, 
in virtue of which the name of the one can be substituted for 
the other. See Examples under Metaphor, Metonymy, Synec- 
doche, Catachresis, Antonomasia, Syllepsis, Metalepsis. 

Figures of Thought are forms of language in which the 
words are used in their proper and literal signification, but in 
which the figure consists in the turn of thought. See Exam- 
ples under Apostrophe, Comparison, Climax, etc. 

The common statement concerning Figures is, 

1. That they enrich language, make it more attractive, and 
render it more copious. 

2. That they bestow elevation and dignity upon style when 
used judiciously. 

3. That they afford pleasure in presenting two objects at once, 



DEFINITIONS. 669 

which, the mind can take in and compare without confusion, but 
even vtith increased distinctness. 

4. That they present a clearer and more striking view of the 
principal object than can be expressed in simple terms. 

This statement is especially true of that class of figures called 
Tropes. 

RULES FOR THE USE OF FIGURES. 

§ 569. The rules usually given for the use of figures are, 

1. That they be suited to the nature of the subject ; that they 
be neither too many, nor too gay, nor too elevated. As nature 
an4 art open their abundant stores of illustration, there is no 
necessity for recurring to allusions that will raise in the mind 
disagreeable, mean, or vulgar ideas, except for the purpose of 
degrading the object illustrated. 

2. The resemblance upon which the trope is founded should 
be clear and obvious, and not far fetched. Trite and common 
resemblances, however, should be avoided. 

3. Tropical and plain language should not be jumbled together 
in the same sentence. 

4. Two different tropes relating to the same object should not 
meet in the same sentence. 

THE STUDY OF RHETORICAL FORMS. 

§ 570. I. The Definitions should be carefully committed to 
memory and recited to the teacher. 

II. The examples should be carefully studied, and one at least 
under each definition should be committed to memory, or, rather, 
learned by heart as something admired. They are to be stud- 
ied for the same purpose for which paintings of the great 
masters are studied by the young artist, that they may have 
an influence upon the taste, in refining and elevating it, be- 
yond what mere rules can have. 

III. Other Examples of each kind of Rhetorical Forms, orig- 
inal or selected, should be exhibited to the teacher by the pupil. 

This exercise has been found by experience to be exceedingly 
profitable in disciplining the mind. 



670 RHETORICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER II. 

DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 



ALLEGORY. 



§ 571. Allegory, Greek dhhrryopia, of dXXog, other, and dyo- 
pevoj, to speak, is a sentence or discourse in which the princi- 
pal subject is described by another subject resembling it. It is 
made up of continued allusion, so that while professedly a de- 
scription of one subject, it has an obvious resemblance to an- 
other, to which every part may be metaphorically applied. 



THE EMPIRE OF POETRY. 



This Empire is a very large and populous country. It is di- 
vided, like some of the countries on the Continent, into the high- 
er and lower regions. The topper region is inhabited by grave, 
melancholy, and sullen people, who, like other mountaineers, 
speak a language very different from that of the inhabitants of 
the valleys. The trees in this part of the country are very tall, 
"having their tops in the clouds. Their horses are superior to 
those of Barbary, being fleeter than the winds. Their women 
fcre so beautiful as to eclipse the star of day. The great city 
which yoH see in the maps, beyond the lofty mountains, is the 
capital of this province, and is called Epic. It is built on a 
sandy and ungrateful soil, which few take the pains to cultivate. 
The length of the city is many days' journey, and it is other- 
wise of a tiresome extent. On leaving its gate, we always meet 
with men who are killing one another ; whereas, when we pass 
through Romance, which forms the suburbs otEpic, and which 
is larger than the city itself, we meet with groups of happy peo- 
ple, who are hastening to the shrine of Hymen. 

The mountains of Tragedy are also in the province of Upper 
Poetry. They are very steep, with dangerous precipices ; and, 
in consequence, many of its people build their habitations at the 
bottom of the hills, and imagine themselves high enough. There 
have been found on these mountains some very beautiful ruins 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 671 

of ancient cities, and, from time to time, the materials are car- 
ried lower to build new cities ; for they are now never built near- 
ly so high as they seem to have been in former times. 

The Loiver Poetry is very similar to the swamps of Holland. 
Burlesque is the capital, which is situated amid stagnant pools. 
Princes speak there as if they had sprung from the dung-hill, 
and all the inhabitants are buffoons from their birth. Comedy 
is a city which is built on a pleasant spot ; but it is too near to 
Burlesque, and its trade with this place has injured the man- 
ners of the inhabitants. 

I beg you will notice, in the map, those vast solitudes which 
lie between High and Low Poetry. They are called the Des- 
erts of Common Sense. There is not a single city in the whole 
of this extensive country, and only a few cottages scattered at a 
distance from one another. The interior of the country is beau- 
tiful and fertile, but you need not wonder that there are so few 
tha't choose to reside in it ; for the entrance is very rugged on 
all sides, the roads are narrow and difficult, and there are seldom 
any guides to be found capable of conducting strangers. 

Besides, this country borders on a province where every per- 
son prefers to remain, because it appears to be very agreeable, 
and saves the trouble of penetrating into the Deserts of Com- 
mon Sense. It is the province of False Thoughts. Here we 
always tread on flowers ; every thing seems enchanting. But 
its general inconvenience is, that the ground is not solid ; the 
foot is always sinking in the mire, however careful one may be. 
Elegy is the capital. Here the people do nothing but com- 
plain ; but it is said that they find a pleasure in their complaints. 
The city is surrounded with woods and rocks, where the inhab- 
itant walks alone, making them the confidants of his secrets, of 
the discovery of which he is so much afraid that he often con- 
jures those woods and rocks never to betray them. 

The Empire of Poetry is watered by two rivers : one is the 
River Rhyme, which has its source at the foot of the Mountains 
of Reverie. The tops of some of these mountains are so ele- 
vated that they pierce the clouds. Those are called the Points 
of Sublime Thoughts. 

Many climb there by extraordinary efforts ; but almost the 
whole tumble down again, and excite, by their fall, the ridicule 



672 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

of those who admired them at first without knowing why. There 
are large platforms almost at the bottom of these mountains, 
which are called the Terraces of Low Thoughts. There are 
always a great number of people walking on them. At the 
ends of these terraces are the Caverns of Deep Reverie. Those 
who descend into them do so insensibly, being so much enrapt 
in their meditations that they enter the caverns before they are 
aware. These caverns are perfect labyrinths, and the difficulty 
of getting out again could scarcely be believed by those who 
have not been there. Above the terraces we sometimes meet 
with men walking in easy paths, which are called the Paths 
of Natural Thoughts; and these gentlemen ridicule equally 
those who try to scale the Points of Sublime Thoughts as well 
as those who grovel on the terraces below. They would be in 
the right if they could keep undeviatingly in the Paths of 
Natural Thoughts, but they fall almost instantly into a snare 
by entering into a splendid palace which is at a very little dis- 
tance. It is the Palace of Badinage. Scarcely have they en- 
tered it, when, in place of the natural thoughts which they for- 
merly had, they dwell upon such only as are mean and vulgar. 
Those, however, who never abandon the Paths of Natural 
Thoughts are the most rational of all. They aspire no higher 
than they ought, and their thoughts are never at variance with 
sound judgment. 

Besides the River Rhyme, which I have described as issuing 
from the foot of the mountains, there is another, called the River 
of Reason. These two rivers are at a great distance from one 
another, and, as they have different courses, they could not be 
made to communicate except by canals, which cost a great deal 
of labor ; for these canals of communication could not be formed 
at all places, because there is only one part of the River Rhyme 
which is in the neighborhood of the River Reason ; and hence 
many cities situated on the Rhyme, such as Roundelay and 
Ballad, could have no commerce with the Reason, whatever 
pains might be taken for the purpose. Further, it would be 
necessary that these canals should cross the Deserts of Com- 
mon Sense, as you will see by the map, and that is almost an 
unknown country. The Rhyme is a large river, whose course 
is crooked and unequal, and, on account of its numerous falls, 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 673 

it is extremely difficult to navigate. On the contrary, the Rea- 
son is very straight and regular, but does not carry vessels of 
every burden. 

There is in the Land of Poetry a very obscure forest, where 
the rays of the sun never enter. It is the Forest of Bombast. 
The trees are close, spreading, and twined into each other. The 
forest is so ancient that it has become a sort of sacrilege to 
prune its trees, and there is no probability that the ground ever 
will be cleared. A few steps into this forest and we lose our 
road, without dreaming that we have gone astray. It is full of 
imperceptible labyrinths, from which no one ever returns. The 
Reason is lost in this forest. 

The extensive province of Imitation is very sterile. It pro- 
duces nothing. The inhabitants are extremely poor, and are 
obliged to glean in the richer fields of the neighboring provinces ; 
and some even make fortunes by this beggarly occupation. 

The Empire of Poetry is very cold toward the north, and 
consequently this quarter is the most populous. There are the 
cities of Anagram and Acrostic, with several others of a sim- 
ilar description. 

Finally, in that sea which bounds the States of Poetry, there 
is the Island of Satire, surrounded by bitter waves. The salt 
from the water is very strong and dark-colored. The greater 
part of the brooks of this island resemble the Nile in this, that 
their sources are unknown ; but it is particularly remarkable 
that there is not one of them whose waters are fresh. A part 
of the same sea is called the Archipelago of Trifles. The 
French term it PArchipel des Bagatelles, and their voyagers 
are well acquainted with those islands. Nature seems to have 
thrown them up in sport, as she did those of the iEgean Sea. 
The principal islands are the Madrigal, the Song, and the Im- 
promptu. No lands can be lighter than those islands, for they 
float upon the waters. — Fontenelle. 

allusion. 

§ 572. Allusion, from the Latin ad, and ludere, to play, is 
that figure by which some word or phrase in a sentence calls to 
mind something which is not mentioned, by means of some si- 
militude. 

Uu 



674 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

1. " I was surrounded with difficulties, and possessed no clew 
by which I could effect my escape." Here the allusion is to 
Theseus in the Labyrinth of Crete, who made his escape by 
means of a clew furnished by Ariadne. 

2. M. Robin addressed a petition to Louis XIV., requesting 
to be allowed to retain possession of a small island on the Hhone, 
of which the following is a translation : 

" Monarch of France ! my little isle 

Is worthless and unfit for thee ; 

Why look for Laurels from a soil 

Which scarcely bears the Willow-tree ?" 

3. In recommending exercise for the cure of the spleen, Ofreen 
says, 

" Fling but a stone, the giant dies !" 

ANACffiNOSIS. 

§ 573. Anacoenosis, from the Greek dvd, and ttoivoq, common, 
is a figure in which the speaker appeals to the judgment of his 
audience on the point in debate, as if they had feelings common 
with his own. 

1. " Suppose he had wronged you out of your estate, traduced 
your character, abused your family, and turned them out of your 
house by violence, how would you have behaved ?" 

2. " He did oblige me every hour, 

Could I but faithful be ? 
He stole my heart, could I refuse 
Whate'er he asked from me ?" 

3. Suppose, Piso, any one had driven you from your house by 
violence, how would you have done ? — Cicero. 

anadiplosis. 

§ 574. Anadiplosis, from the Greek dvd, and dt-rrXoog, double, 
is the use of the same word or words in the termination of one 
clause of a sentence and at the beginning of the next. 

1. " He retained his virtues amid all his misfortunes ; mis- 
fortunes which no prudence could see or prevent." 

2. Can Parliament be so dead to their dignity and duty as to 
give their support to measures thus obtruded and forced upon 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 675 

them ; measures, my lords, which have reduced this late flour- 
ishing empire to scorn and contempt ? — Lord Chatham. 
3. " Has he a gust for blood ? Blood shall fill his cup." 

ANAGRAM. 

§ 575. Anagram, from the Greek dvd, and ypdfif.ia, a letter, is 
the transposition of the letters of a name, by which a new word 
is formed. 

1. The words Charles James Stuart can he transposed into 
Claims Arthur's Seat. 

2. Astronomers — Moon starers. 

3. L evi= vile = evil. 

ANAPHORA. 

§ 576. Anaphora, from the Greek 'Ava^epw, to carry back, 
is the repetition of a word at the beginning of several clauses 
of a sentence, which impresses the idea more distinctly on the 
mind. 

1. My daughter I with thy name my song begun ; 
My daughter ! with thy name thus much shall end : 
I see thee not ; 1 hear thee not ; hut none 

Can be so rapt in thee ; thou art the Friend 

To whom the shadows of far years extend. — Byron. 

2. A man with no sense of religious duty is he whom the 
Scriptures describe in so terse but terrific a manner as " living 
without Grod in the world." Such a man is out o/his proper 
being, out of the circle of all his duties, out of the circle of all 
his happiness, and away, far, far away from the purposes of 
his creation. — Daniel "Webster. 

3. " Slave, do thine office ! 
Strike as I struck the foe ! Strike as I would 
Have struck those tyrants ! Strike deep as my curse ! 
Strike ! and but once. — Byron's Doge of Venice. 

ANTITHESIS. 

§ 577. Antithesis, Greek 'AvriOeotg, from dvrt, and riSrjfu, to 
place, is the opposition of words and sentiments, a contrast by 
which each of the contrasted things is rendered more striking. 

1. True Honor, though it be a different principle from Relig- 



C76 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

ion, is that which produces the same effects. The lines of ac- 
tion, though drawn from different parts, terminate in the same 
point. Religion embraces virtue, as it is enjoined by the laws 
of Grod ; Honor, as it is graceful and ornamental to human na- 
ture. The religious man fears, the man of honor scorns, to do 
an ill action. The latter considers vice as something that is be- 
neath him ; the former, as something that is offensive to the 
Divine Being : the one, as what is unbecoming ; the other, as 
what is forbidden. — Guardian. 

2. A Bed is a bundle of paradoxes : we go to it with reluct- 
ance, yet we quit it with regret ; we make up our minds to 
leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to 
keep it late. — Lacon. 

3. . On parent knees, a naked, new-born child, 

Weeping thou sat'st, while all around thee smiled ; 
So live, that sinking in thy last, long sleep, 
Thou then may'st smile, while all around thee weep. 

Sir W. Jones. 

4. Whether you look up to the top, or down to the bottom ; 
whether you mount with the froth, or sink with the sediment, 
no rank in this country can support a perfectly degraded name. 
— Sir Philip Francis. 

5. To Adam, Paradise w r as a home ; to the good among his 
descendants, Home is a paradise. — Hare. 

6. "Wit was originally a general name for all the intellectual 
powers, meaning the faculty which kens, perceives, knows, un- 
derstands ; it was gradually narrowed in its signification to ex- 
press merely the resemblance between ideas ; and, lastly, to note 
that resemblance when it occasioned ludicrous surprise. It- 
marries ideas lying w T ide apart by a sudden jerk of the under- 
standing. Humor originally meant moisture, a signification it 
metaphorically retains, for it is the very juice of the mind oozing 
from the brain, and enriching and fertilizing wherever it falls. 
Wit exists by antipathy, Humor by sympathy. 

Wit laughs at things ; Humor laughs with them. Wit lash- 
es external appearances, or cunningly exaggerates single foibles 
into character ; Humor glides into the heart of its object, looks 
lovingly on the infirmities it detects, and represents the whole 
man. 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. (377 

"Wit is abrupt, darting, scornful-, and tosses its analogies in 
your face ; Humor is slow and shy, insinuating its fun into your 
heart. Wit is negative, analytical, destructive ; Humor is cre- 
ative. The couplets of Pope are witty ; but Sancho Panza is a 
humorous creation. "Wit, when earnest, has the earnestness of 
passion seeking to destroy ; Humor has the earnestness of affec- 
tion, and would lift up what is seemingly low into our charity 
and love. Wit, bright, rapid, and blasting as the lightning, 
strikes, and vanishes in an instant ; Humor, warm and all-em- 
bracing as the sunshine, bathes its objects in a genial and abid- 
ing light. Wit implies hatred or contempt of folly and crime, 
produces its effects by brisk shocks of surprise, uses the whip 
of scorpions and the branding-iron, stabs, stings, pinches, tor- 
tures, goads, teases, corrodes, undermines; Humor implies a 
sure conception of the beautiful, the majestic, and the true, by 
whose light it surveys and shapes their opposites. It is a hu- 
mane influence softening with mirth the rugged inequalities of 
existence, promoting tolerant views of life, bridging over the 
spaces which separate the lofty from the lowly, the great from 
the humble. Old Dr. Fuller's remark, that a negro is " the im- 
age of God cut in ebony," is humorous ; Horace Smith's, that 
"the task-master is the image of the devil cut in ivory," is witty. 
— Whipple. 

antonomasia. 

§ 578. Antonomasia, from the Greek 'Avrl ovofia,for a name, 
is a trope, by which we put a proper name for a common name, 
or a common name for a proper name ; or an office, or profes : 
sion, or science instead of the true name of a person. 

1. If plagues or earthquakes break not Heaven's design, 
Why then a Borgia or a Catiline ? — Pope. 

2. Galileo, the Columbus of the heavens. 

3. The Niobe of nations, there she stands, 

Childless and crownless, in her voiceless woe ; 
An empty urn within her withered hands, 
Whose holy dust was scattered long ago. 

4. Some village Hamden, that with dauntless breast 

The little tyrant of his fields withstood ; 
Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest, 

Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood. — Grav. 



678 RHETORICAL FORMS. 



APOLOGUE OR FABLE. 

§ 579. Apologue, Greek anoXoyog, is a short, fictitious story, 
founded frequently on supposed actions of brutes or inanimate 
things, and is not supported by probability. 

A Dog, crossing a little rivulet with a piece of flesh in his 
mouth, saw his own Shadow represented in the clear mirror of 
the limpid stream, and believing it to be another Dog, who was 
carrying another piece of flesh, he could not forbear catching at 
it, but was so far from getting any thing by his greedy design, 
that he dropped the piece he had in his mouth, which immedi- 
ately sunk to the bottom, and was irrecoverably lost.— JE sop. 

Application. 

He that catches at more than belongs to him, justly deserves 
to lose what he has. 

APOSIOPESIS. 

§ 580. Aposiopesis, from the Greek dnooionTJoig, a retaining 
or suppression, is leaving a sentence unfinished, in consequence 
of some sudden emotion of the mind. A speaker may thus ag- 
gravate what he pretends to conceal, by uttering a part, and 
leaving the remainder to be understood. 

1. The statesman is the leader of a nation, the warrior is the 
grace of an age, the philosopher is the birth of a thousand years ; 
but the lover — where is he not ? — Deerbrook. 

2. I can tell him, sir, that Massachusetts and her people, of 
.all people, of all classes, hold him, and his love, and his venera- 
tion, and his speeches, and his principles, and his standard of 
truth, in utter — what shall I say ? — any thing but respect. — D. 
"Webster. 

3. No sooner had the Almighty ceased, but all 
The multitude of angels, with a shout 

Loud as from numbers without number, sweet 
As from the blest voices uttering joy — heaven rang 
With jubilee, and loud hosannas filled 
The eternal regions. — Milton. 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 679 



APOSTROPHE. 

§ 581. Apostrophe, Greek and, from, and orpofifj, a turning, 
a digressive address, is a figure by which the speaker turns the 
current of his discourse, and addresses some person or some ob- 
ject different from that to which his discourse had been di- 
rected. 

1. ye judges ! it was not by human counsel, nor by any 
thing less than the immediate care of the immortal gods, that 
this event has taken place. The very divinities themselves, 
who beheld that monster fall, seemed to be moved, and to have 
inflicted their vengeance upon him. I appeal to, I call to wit- 
ness you, ye hills and groves of Alba ! you, the demolished 
Alban altars ! ever accounted holy by the Romans, and coeval 
with our religion, but which Clodius, in his mad fury, having 
first cut down and leveled the most sacred groves, had sunk un- 
der heaps of common buildings ; I appeal to you, I call you to 
witness, whether your altars, your divinities, your powers, which 
he had polluted with all kinds of wickedness, did not avenge 
themselves when this wretch was extirpated ? And thou, 
holy Jupiter ! from the height of thy sacred mount, whose lakes, 
groves, and .boundaries he had so often contaminated with his 
detestable impurities ; and you, the other deities, whom he had 
insulted, at length opened your eyes to punish this enormous of- 
fender. By you, by you and in your sight, was the slow, but the 
righteous and merited vengeance executed upon him. — Cicero. 

2. Ye toppling crags of ice ! 
Ye avalanches, whom a breath draws down 

In mountainous overwhelming, come and crush me ! 

I hear ye momently above, beneath, 

Crash with a frequent conflict ; but ye pass, 

And only fall on things that still would live ; 

On the young nourishing forest, or the hut 

And hamlet of the harmless villager. — Byron. 

CATACHRESIS. 

§ 582. Catachresis, from the Grreek Kardxprjaig, is an abuse 
of a trope, by which a word is wrested from its original appli- 
cation, and made to express something at variance with its true 
meaning. 



680 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

1. "An iron candlestick ;" "a glass ink-horn." 

2. Attempered to the lyre your voice employ, 

Such the pleased ear will drink with silent joy. — Pope. 

3. How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank ; 
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music 
Creep in our ears. — Shakspeare. 

4. And pity, like a naked new-born babe, 
Striding- the blast, as heaven's Cherubim horsed 
Upon the sightless couriers of the air, 

Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, 
That tears shall drown the wind. — Macbeth. 

5. " Man's heart eats all things, and is hungry still." 

6. "Her voice was but the shadow of a sound." 

CLIMAX. 

§ 583. Climax, from the Greek fcXtpta^, a ladder, is the as- 
cent of a subject, step by step, from a lower to a higher interest. 

1. We feel the strength of mind through the beauty of the 
style ; we discern the man in the author, the nation in the man, 
and the universe at the feet of the nation. — Madame de Stael. 

2. I impeach thee, Warren Hastings, of high crimes and mis- 
demeanors. I impeach him in the name of the Commons and 
House of Parliament, whose trust he has betrayed. I impeach 
him in the name of the English nation, whose ancient honor he 
has sullied. I impeach him in the name of the people of India, 
whose rights he has trodden under foot, and whose country he 
has turned into a desert. Lastly, in the name of human nature 
itself, in the name of both sexes, in the name of every age, in 
the name of every rank, I impeach the common enemy and op- 
pressor of all. — Burke. 

3. In my affection to my country you find me ever firm and 
invariable. Not the solemn demand of my person, not the venge- 
ance of the Amphictyonic council, 'not the terror of their threat- 
enings, not the flattery of their promises, no, nor the fury of 
those accursed wretches whom they roused like wild beasts 
against me, could tear this affection from my breast. — Demos- 
thenes. 

4. What a piece of work is man ! how noble in reason ! how 
infinite in faculties ! in form and moving, how express and ad- 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 681 

mirable ! in action, how like an angei ! in apprehension, how 
like a God ! — Hamlet. 

ANTI-CLIMAX. 

§ 584. Anti-climax, the opposite of climax, is a descent from 
great things to small ; a sentence or paragraph in which the 
ideas descend, and become less important and striking at the 
close than at the commencement. 

1. "Who murder our wives and children, plunder our dwell- 
ings, steal our sheep, and rob our potato-patches." 

2. Die, and endow a college or a eat. — Pope. 

3. " Under the tropic is our language spoke, 

And part of Flanders has received our yoke." 

ECPHONESIS OR EXCLAMATION. 

§ 585. Ecphonesis, Greek eKcpGjvrjaic;, is an. animated or pas- 
sionate exclamation, and is generally indicated by such inter- 
jections as O / oh ! ah ! alas ! 

1. my soul's joy, 
If after every tempest come such calms, 

May the winds blow till they have wakened death! — Othello. 

2. Oh mournful day to the Senate and all good men ! calam- 
itous to the Senate, afflictive to me and my family, but to pos- 
terity glorious and worthy of admiration ! — Cicero pro Sext. 

3. Oh the great and mighty force of truth, which so easily 
supports itself against all the wit, craft, subtlety, and artful de- 
signs of men ! — Cicero pro Ccelius. 

enigma. 

§ 586. Enigma, from the Greek word diviypa, from diviooofiai, 
to hint, a dark saying in which some known thing is concealed 
under obscure language ; an obscure question ; a riddle. 

1. " "What creature is that which walks upon four legs in the 
morning, two at noon, and upon three at night ?" Man. This 
is the famous riddle of the sphinx. 

2. 'Twas whispered in heaven, 'twas muttered in hell, 
And echo caught faintly the sound as it fell ; 

On the confines of earth 'twas permitted to rest, 
And the depths of the ocean its presence confess'd. 



682 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

'Twill be found in the sphere when 'tis riven asunder, 
Be seen in the lightning and heard in the thunder. 
'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath, 
Attends at his birth, and awaits him in death ; 
It presides o'er his happiness, honor, and health, 
Is the prop of his house, and the end of his wealth : 
Without it the soldier, the seaman may roam, 
But woe to the wretch who expels it from home. 
In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found, 
Nor e'en in the whirlwind of passion be drown'd: 
'Twill soften the heart, and though deaf to the ear, 
'Twill make it acutely and instantly hear. 
But in shade let it rest like a delicate flower, 
Oh breathe on it softly, it dies in an hour. — Byron. 

The letter H. 

EPANALEPSIS. 

§ 587. Epanalepsis, Greek erravdh^ig, repetition, is a figure 
by which a sentence ends with the same word with which it 
begins. 

1. Fare thee well, and if forever, 

Still forever fare thee well; 
Even though unforgiving, never 

'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel. — Byron to his wife. 

2. " Langsyne ! with thee resides a spell 

To raise the spirit and refine. 
Farewell ! there can be no farewell 
To thee, loved, lost Langsyne." 

3. "A voice o'er all the waste and prostrate isle 



EPANORTHOS1S. 

§ 588. Epanorthosis, Greek £7rav6p6ocug, correction, is a fig- 
ure by which a speaker retracts or recalls what he has spoken, 
in order to substitute something stronger or more suitable in its 
place. The attention of the auditor is roused, and a stronger 
impression is thus produced upon his mind by what is thus sub- 
stituted. 

1. Can you be ignorant, among the conversation of this city, 
what laws — if they are to be called laws, and not the fire- 
brands of Rome and the plagues of the commonwealth'— -this 
Clodius designed to fix upon us ? 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. ^83 

2. ""Why should I speak of his neglect — neglect did I say? 
call it rather contempt." 

EPIZEUXIS. 

§ 589. Epizeuxis, from the Greek em^ev^tq, joining to, is re- 
joining or repeating the same word or words emphatically. 

1. " Restore him, restore him if you can, from the dead." 

2. The Isles of Greece, the Isles of Greece, 
Where burning Sappho loved and sung, 
Where grew the arts of war and peace, 
Where Delos rose and Phoebus sprung — 
Eternal summer gilds them yet, 

But all except their sun is set. — Byron. 

3- O thou queen ! 

Thou delegated Deity of Earth ; 
O dear, dear England ! how my longing eyes 
Turned, shaping in the steady clouds 
Thy sands and high white cliffs. — Coleridge. 



EROTESIS OR INTERROGATION. 

§ 590. Erotesis, Greek ep6rr}(jig, is an animated or passion- 
ate interrogation. 

1. What, Tubero, did that naked sword of yours mean in the 
"battle of Pharsalia? At whose breast was its point aimed? 
What was then the meaning of your arms, your spirit, your 
eyes, your hands, your ardor of soul ? What did you desire, 
what wish for? I press the youth too much; he seems dis- 
turbed. Let me return to myself. I too bore arms on the same 
side. — Cicero for Ligarius. 

2. What is there in these days that you have not attempted ? 
what have you not profaned ? What name shall I give to this 
assembly? Shall I call you soldiers? you who have besieged 
with your arms and surrounded with a trench the son of your 
Emperor ? Shall I call you citizens ? you who have so shame- 
fully trampled on the authority of the Senate ? you who have 
violated the justice due to enemies, the sanctity of embassy, and 
the rights of nations ?— Tacitus, Annals, b. i. 



684 RHETORICAL FORMS. 



EUPHEMISM. 

§ 591. Euphemism, Greek ev^rjfiiofiog, ev, well, (fri^ii, to speak, 
a figure by which a harsh or offensive word is set aside, and one 
that is delicate substituted in its place. 

1. Worn out with anguish, toil, and cold, and hunger, 
Down sunk the wanderer ; sleep had seized her senses. 
There did the traveler find her in the morning : 

God had released her. — Southey. 

2. " That merchant prince has stopped payment." 

HYPERBOLE. 

§ 592. Hyperbole, Greek v7rep6oXrj, excess, is a figure by 
which much more is expressed than the truth. In Hyperbole 
the exaggeration is so great that it can not be expected to be 
believed by the reader or the hearer. It is usually the offspring 
of a momentary conviction produced by sudden surprise on the 
part of the speaker and writer. 

1. He told us that a part of the road from Salinas, in Persia, 
to Julamerk, was so frightful to travel, that a fat, spirited horse 
would in a single day suffer so much from terror, that before 
night he would be as thin as a knife-blade. — Dr. Grant's Nes- 
torians. 

2. The universal host upsent 

A shout that tore Hell's conclave, and beyond 
Frighted the reign of Chaos and old Night. — Milton. 

3. An elm is 

A forest waving on a single tree. — Holmes. 

4. Camilla 
Outstripped the winds with speed upon the plain, 
Flew o'er the field, nor hurt the bearded grain ; 
She swept the seas, and, as she skimmed along, 

Her flying foot unbathed in billows hung. — Dryden, Mn., b. vii. 

HYPOTYPOSIS. 

§ 593. Hypotyposis, from the Greek vTrorvrrcjoig, under an 
image. A description of a thing in strong and lively colors, so 
that the past, the distant, and the future are represented as pres- 
ent. It is sometimes called Yision. 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. £85 

1. Is this a dagger which I see before me, 
The handle toward my hand 1 come, let 
Me clutch thee ! — Macbeth. 

2. Even now the devastation is begun, 
And half the business of destruction done ; 
Even now, methinks, as pondering here I stand, 
I see the rural virtues leave the land, 
Down where yon anchoring vessel spreads the sail, 
That idly waiting, flaps with every gale, 
Downward they move a melancholy band, 
Pass from the shore, and darken all the land ; 
Contented toil, and hospitable care, 
And kind connubial tenderness are there. — GoldsIviith. 

3. I seem to myself to behold this city, the ornament of the 
earth and the capital of all nations, suddenly involved in one 
conflagration. I see before me the slaughtered heaps of citizens, 
lying unburied in the midst of their ruined country. The furi- 
ous countenance of Cethegus rises to my view, while with a 
savage joy he is triumphing in your miseries. — Cicero. 

4. Grreece cries to us by the convulsed lips of her poisoned 
dying Demosthenes ; and Rome pleads with us in the mute 
persuasion of her mangled Tully. — E. Everett. 

5. I see before me the gladiator lie : 

He leans upon his hand ; his manly brow 
Consents to death, but conquers agony, 

And his drooped head sinks gradually low ; 

And through his side the last drops ebbing flow 
From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one, 

Like the first of a thunder-shower ; and now 
The arena swims around him — he is gone, 
Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hailed the wretch who won. 

He heard it, but he heeded not : his eyes 
Were with his heart, and that was far away ; 

He recked not of the life he lost, nor prize, 
But where his rude hut by the Danube lay, 

. There w r ere his young barbarians all at play, 

There was their Dacian mother — he, their sire, 
Butchered to make a Roman holiday ! 

All this rushed with his blood. Shall he expire, 
And unavenged ] Arise ! ye Goths, and glut your ire ! — Byron. 



6$Q RHETORICAL FORMS. 



IRONY. 

§ 594. Irony, from the Greek elpovla, from e'lpov, a dissem- 
ble?' in speech, is a mode of speech expressing a sense contrary 
to that which the speaker intends to convey. 

1. And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them, 
and said, " Cry aloud ; for he is a god : either he is talking, or 
he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleep- 
eth, and must be awaked." — 1 Kings, xviii., 27. 

2. The persons, who have suffered from the cannibal philoso- 
phy of France are so like the Duke of Bedford, that nothing but 
his grace's not probably speaking so good French could enable 
us to find out any difference. A great many of them had as 
pompous titles, and were of full as illustrious a race ; some few 
of them had fortunes as ample ; several of them, without mean- 
ing the least disparagement to the Duke of Bedford, were as 
wise, and as virtuous, and as valiant, and as well educated, and 
as complete in all the lineaments of men of honor as he is. And 
to all this they had added the powerful outguard of a military 
profession, which in its nature renders men somewhat more cau- 
tious than those who have nothing to attend to but the lazy en- 
joyment of undisturbed possessions. But security was their 
ruin. They are dashed to pieces in the storm, and our shores 
ere covered with the wrecks. — Burke. 

3. Delightful Bowles, still blessing, and still blessM, 
All like thy strain ; but children like it best. 
Now to soft themes thou seemest to confine 
The lofty numbers of a harp like thine, 
Awake a louder and a louder strain, 

Such as none heard before, or will again ! 

Where all discoveries jumbled from the flood, 

Since first the leaky ark reposed in mud, 

By more or less are sung in every book, 

From Captain Noah down to Captain Cook ; 

Bowles, in thy memory let this precept dwell, 

Stick to thy sonnets, man — at least they sell. — Byron. 

LITOTES. 

§ 595. Litotes, Greek Xirog, slender, is diminution, a figure 
in which, by denying the contrary, more is intended than is ex- 
pressed ; as, " The man is no fool," that is, he is wise. 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 687 

1. To thee I call, but with no friendly voice, 
And add thy name, O Sun, to tell thee how 
I hate thy beams. — Milton. 

2. One of the few the immortal names 
That were not born to die. — Halleck. 

METAL EP SIS. 

§ 596. Metalepsis, from the Greek fLeTdXrjijjig, participation, 
is the continuation of a trope in one word through a succession 
of significations, or it is the union of two or more tropes in one 
word. 

1. " Napoleon was living" = Napoleon is dead. 

2. " Fuit Ilium et ingens gloria Dardanidum" = Troy and the 
glory of the Trojans is no more. 

metaphor. 

§ 597. Metaphor, from the Greek fiera^opa, a transferring, 
is the use of a word in a sense which is beyond its original 
meaning. It is the transferring of a word from the object to 
which it properly belongs, and applying it to another to which 
that object bears some resemblance or analogy. It shows si- 
militude without the sign of comparison. 

1. The moral and political system of Hobbes was a palace 
of ice : transparent, exactly proportioned, majestic, admired by 
the unwary as a delightful dwelling ; but gradually undermined 
by the central warmth of human feeling, before it was thawed 
into muddy water by the sunshine of true philosophy. — Sir 
James MacIntosh. 

2. The Grospel, formerly a forester, now became a citizen ; 
and leaving the woods wherein it wandered, the hills and holes 
wherein it hid itself before, dwelt quietly in populous places. — 
Puller's Church History, p. 23. 

3. Burke thus describes the fall from power of Lord Chatham, 
and the rise of Charles Townsend : 

Even then, before this splendid orb was entirely set, and while 
the western horizon was in a blaze with his descending glory, 
on the opposite quarter of the heavens arose another luminary, 
and for his hour became lord of the ascendant. 

4. Short-lived, indeed, was Irish independence. I sat by her 
cradle ; I followed her hearse. — G-rattan. 



688 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

5. There is no such thing as happiness in this world. The 
sole distinction is, that the life of a happy man is a picture, with 
a silver ground studded with stars of jet ; while, on the other 
hand, the life of a miserable man is a dark ground with a few 
stars of silver. — Napoleon. 

M ETONYM Y. 

§ 598. Metonymy, from Greek fierovvjila, a change of name, 
is a figure by which one word is put for another ; as the cause 
for the effect, or the effect for the cause ; the container for the 
contained ; the sign for the thing signified. The relation is al- 
ways that of causes, effects, or adjuncts. 

1. Substituting the cause for the effect : 

A time there was, ere England's griefs began, 

When every rood of ground maintained its man. — Goldsmith. 

2. Substituting the effect for the cause : 

Can gray hairs make folly venerable ? — Junius. 
o. Substituting the container for the contained: 
c; The toper loves his bottle." The highwayman says, " Your 
purse or your life !" 

4. Substituting the sign for the thing signified : 
"He carried away the palm." 

5. Substituting the abstract for the concrete term : 

We wish that Labor may look up here, and be proud in the 
midst of its toil. We wish that Infancy may learn the purpose 
of its creation from maternal lips ; and that weary and withered 
Age may behold and be solaced by the recollections which it 
suggests, — Daniel Webster. 

6. There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
To deck the turf that wraps their clay ; 
And Freedom shall a while repair 

To dwell a weeping hermit there. — Collins. 

PARABLE. 

§ 599. Parable, Greek irapatoXi], from irapabdXXw, to com- 
pare, is an allegorical representation or relation of something 
real in life or nature, from which a moral is drawn. See the 
Parable of the Poor Man and his Lamb, 2 Sam., xii. ; tb Par- 
able of the Ten Virgins, Matt., xxv. , 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. (389 



PAR ALE IPS rS. 

§ 600. Paraleipsis, Greek rcapdXeupig, omission, is a figure 
by which a speaker pretends to pass by what at the same time 
he really mentions. 

1. "I might say many things of his liberality, kindness to his 
domestics, his command in the army, and moderation during 
his office in the province ; but the honor of the state presents 
itself to my view, and, calling me to it, advises me to omit these 
lesser matters." 

2. " I do not speak of my adversary's scandalous venality and 
rapacity ; I take no notice of his brutal conduct ; I do not speak 
of his treachery and malice." 

PARONOMASIA. 

§ 601. Paronomasia, from the Greek napd, near, and ovofxa, 
a name, is a pun or a play upon words, in which the same word 
is used in different senses, or words similar in sound are set in 
opposition to each other. 

1. " Yoltaire had a stupid fat friar at Ferney, who was use- 
ful to him, and who went by the name of Pere Adam, Father 
Adam. A gentleman who was visiting there, happening to get a 
glimpse of this inmate, asked Voltaire if that was Father Adam. 
' Yes,' replied Voltaire, ' that is Father Adam, but not the first 
of men? " 

2. " Mr. Curran, the late celebrated Irish advocate, was walk- 
ing one day with a friend who was extremely punctilious in his 
conversation. Hearing a person near him say curosity instead 
of curiosity, he exclaimed, ' How that man murders the English 
language !' ' Not so bad,' said Curran ; ' he has only knocked 
an i out.' " 

PROSOPOPOEIA OR PERSONIFICATION. 

§ 602. Prosopopceia, from the Greek rcpoooTrov, a person, and 
ttoleg), I make, is a figure by which the absent are introduced 
as present, and by which inanimate objects and abstract ideas 
are represented as living. 

1. O Winter! ruler of the inverted year, 

Thy scattered hair with sleet like ashes filled ; 

Xx 



690 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

Thy breath congealed upon thy lips ; thy cheeks 

Fringed with a beard made white with other snows 

Than those of age ; thy forehead wrapped in clouds ; 

A leafless branch thy sceptre ; and thy throne 

A sliding car indebted to no wheels, 

But urged by storms along its slippery way : 

I love thee ! all unlovely as thou seem'st, 

And dreaded as thou art! — Cowper. 

2. Ha ! comest thou now so late to mock 

A wanderer's banished heart forlorn ? 
Now that his frame the lightning shock, 

Of sun's rays tipp'd with death, has borne ? 

From love, from friendship, country torn, 
To memory's fond regrets a prey ; 

Vile slave ! thy yellow dross I scorn ! 
Go mix thee with thy kindred clay ! — Leyden. 

3. His was the spell o'er hearts 

That only acting lends, 
The youngest of the sister arts, 

Where all their beauty blends ; 
For Poetry can ill express 

Full many a tone of thought sublime ; 
And Painting, mute and motionless, 

Steals but one partial glance from time : 
But by the mighty actors brought, 

Illusion's wedded triumphs come ; 
Verse ceases to be airy thought, 

And Sculpture to be dumb. — Campbell. 

4. How sleep the brave, who sink to rest 
By all their country's wishes bless'd ; 
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, 
Returns to deck their hallowed mould, 
She there shall dress a sweeter sod 

Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. — Collins. 

PROVERB. 

§ 603. Proverb, Latin proverbium, a short sentence, ex- 
pressing a well-known truth or common fact ascertained by ex- 
perience or observation ; a maxim of wisdom. 

" Out of sight out of mind." 

REPARTEE. 

§ 604. Repartee, French reparlie, a smart, witty reply. 
" Said a would-be agreeable, taking his seat between Madame 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. Q€)\ 

de Stael and the reigning beauty of the day, ' How happy I am 
to be thus seated between a wit and a beauty.' ' Yes,' replied 
Madame de Stael, ' and without possessing either !' " 

SARCASM. 

§ 605. Sarcasm, from the Greek oaptcaajiog, from capna^u, to 
sneer at or deride, primarily to flay or pluck off the skin, is a 
keen, reproachful expression, uttered with scorn or contempt. 
It is sometimes bitter, biting irony; 

1. My Lord, — The profound respect I bear to the gracious 
prince who governs this country with no less honor to himself 
than satisfaction to his subjects, and who restores you to your 
rank under his standard, will save you from a multitude of re- 
proaches. The attentions I should have paid to your failings is 
involuntarily attracted to the hand that rewards them ; and 
though I am not so partial to the royal judgment as to affirm 
that the king can remove mountains of infamy, it serves at least 
to lessen, for undoubtedly it divides the burden. "While I re- 
member how much is due to his sacred character, I can not, 
with any decent appearance of propriety, call you the meanest 
and basest fellow in the kingdom. I protest, my lord, I do not 
think so. You will have a dangerous rival in that kind of fame 
to which you have hitherto so happily directed your ambition, 
as long as there is one man living who thinks you worthy of 
his confidence, and fit to be trusted with any share in his gov- 
ernment. I confess you have great intrinsic merit, but take 
care you do not value it too highly. Consider how much of it 
would have been lost to the world if the king had not graciously 
affixed his royal stamp and given it currency among his sub- 
jects. If it be true that a virtuous man struggling with ad- 
versity be a scene worthy of the gods, the glorious contest be- 
tween you and the best of princes deserves a circle equally at- 
tentive and respectable. I think I see already other gods rising 
from beneath to behold it. — Junius. 

2. Sir Philip Francis, after his return to Parliament, 1784, 
gave great offense to Mr. Pitt by exclaiming, after he had pro- 
nounced an animated eulogy on Lord Chatham, " But he is 
dead, and has left nothing in this world that resembles him." 



692 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

SIMILE. 

§ 606. Simile, from the Latin similis, like, is a comparison 
expressed in form, and is founded on resemblance. 

1. The ship kept on away up the river, lessening and lessen- 
ing in the waning sunshine like a little white cloud melting 
away in the summer sky. — "W. Irving. 

2. " Like the Aurora Borealis of their native sky, the poets 
and historians of Iceland not only illuminated their own coun- 
try, but flashed the light of their genius through the night which 
hung over the rest of Europe." 

3. The noon-day sun came slanting down the rocky slopes of 
La Eiccia, and its masses of entangled and tall foliage, whose 
autumnal tints were mixed with the wet verdure of a thousand 
evergreens, were penetrated with it as with rain. I can not 
call it color ; it was conflagration. Purple, and crimson, and 
scarlet, like the curtains of God's Tabernacle, the rejoicing trees 
sank into the valley in showers of light, every separate leaf 
quivering with buoyant and burning life ; each, as it turned to 
reflect or to transmit the sunbeam, first a torch and then an 
emerald ! Far up into the recesses of the valley, the green vis- 
tas arched like the hollows of mighty waves of some crystalline 
sea, with the arbutus flowers dashed along their flanks for foam, 
and silver flakes of orange spray tossed into the air around them, 
breaking over the gray wall of rocks into a thousand separate 
stars, fading and kindling alternately as the weak wind lifted 
and let them fall. Every glade of grass burned like the golden 
floor of heaven, opening in sudden gleams as the foliage broke 
and closed above it, as sheet lightning opens in a cloud at sun- 
set ! — Modern Painters. 

4. The poems of Byron are as the scenes of a summer even- 
ing, where all is tender, and grand, and beautiful; but the 
damps of disease descend with the dews of heaven, and the pes- 
tilent vapors of night are breathed in with the fragrance and 
the balm, and the delicate and the fair are the surest victims 
of the exposure. — Professor Fkisbie. 



DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES. 693 



SYLLEPSIS. 

§ 607. Syllepsis, from the Greek ovXhipfrig, taken together, 
is a trope by which a word is taken in two senses, the literal 
and the metaphorical ; when we conceive the sense of the words 
to be otherwise than what the words impart, and construe them 
according to the sense of the writer. 

1. Lie heavy on him, Earth, for he 

Laid many a heavy load on thee. — Epitaph on a bad Architect. 

2. u And hope shall revive again, and, brighter and ivarmer 
than the beams of the morning sun, shall illumine and invigor- 
ate his dark soul." 

3. Perchance she died in youth ; it may be, bowed 
With woes far heavier than the ponderous tomb 
That weighed upon her gentle dust. — Byron. 

4. Beautiful as the whole country had been, I found nothing 
equal to the two hours before entering Nicaragua. — J. L. Ste- 
phens. 

synecdoche. 

§ 608. Synecdoche, from the Greek word oweicdoxrj, a taking 
together, is a trope by which the whole of a thing is put for a 
part, or a part for the whole ; as a species for a genus, or a ge- 
nus for a species. It comprehends more or less in the expres- 
sion than the word which is employed literally signifies. 

1. A sail ! a sail ! a promised prize to hope, 
Her nation's flag — how speaks the telescope ? 

No prize, alas ! but yet a welcome sail. — Byron. 

Here we have a part for the whole. 

2. Belinda smiled, and all the ivorld was gay. — Pope. 
Here we have the whole for a part. 

3. I attest heaven and earth, that in all places and at all 
times I have steadfastly shoved aside the gilded hand of corrup- 
tion, and endeavored to stem the tide which threatened to over- 
whelm this island. — Burke. 

4. " The Lord Chancellor waited on his majesty and resigned 
the seals." 

5. " The governor came forth and delivered up the keys of 
the fort to the conqueror." 



694 RHETORICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER III. 

PERSPICUITY. 

§ 609. Whatever be the end aimed at by the orator, unless 
he speaks so as to be understood, he speaks to no purpose. If 
he fails in perspicuity, he fails in being understood. It is not 
enough that he can be understood by the closest attention on 
the part of the hearer. He must be easily understood. Per- 
spicuity is eminently a rhetorical quality. Just as a sentence 
may be perfectly grammatical, and yet be false in reference to 
logic, so it may be perfectly grammatical, and yet be deficient 
in perspicuity. 

I. Obscurity may arise from Ellipsis; as, "You ought to 
contemn all the wit in the world against you." As the writer 
does not mean to say that all the wit in the world is actually 
excited against the person whom he addresses, there is a defect 
in the expression, which may be removed by filling up the ellip- 
sis. " He talks all the way up stairs to a visit." Fill up the 
ellipsis, and you remove the obscurity. " He talks all the way 
as he tvalks up stairs to make a visit." 

II. Obscurity may arise from bad Arrangement. There 
should be such an arrangement as will indicate the order and 
connection. " He advanced against the fierce ancient, imitating 
his address, his pace, and career, .as well as the vigor of his 
horse and his own skill would allow." The clause, as well as 
the vigor of his horse, appears at first to belong to the former 
part of the sentence, and is afterward found to belong to the lat- 
ter. " After we came to anchor, they put me on shore, where 
I was welcomed by all my friends, who received me with the 
greatest kindness." This sentence is deficient in unity and con- 
nection. 

III. Obscurity may arise from using the same word in dif- 
ferent senses. " That he should be in earnest it is hard to 
conceive, since any reasons of doubt which he might have in the 
case would have been reasons of doubt in other men, who may 



PERSPICUITY. (595 

give more, "but can not give more evident signs of thought than 
their fellow-creatures." Instead of using the same word more 
as an adjective and an adverb in the same sentence, the follow- 
ing form might be advantageously substituted : " "Who may give 
more numerous, but can not give more evident signs of doubt 
than their fellow-creatures." " The sharks who prey upon the 
inadvertency of young heirs are more pardonable than those who 
trespass on the good opinion of those who treat with them on the 
footing of choice and respect." 

IV. Obscurity may arise from the injudicious use of Techni- 
cal Terms. Every important science or art has its peculiar 
terms, which are of great utility in the study of that science or 
the practice of that art, but which are not adapted to general 
use ; for the plain reason, that they are not generally under- 
stood. 

THE DOUBLE MEANING. 

§ 610. I. Obscurity may arise from the use of Equivocal 
Terms, " The next refuge was to say that it was overlooked 
by one, and many passages wholly written by another." The 
word overlooked sometimes signifies revised, and sometimes 
neglected. In this case the word revised would have been 
preferable. 

II. Obscurity may arise from Ambiguous Construction. 
" The rising tomb a lofty column bore." Did the tomb bear 
the column, or the column the tomb ? 

Obscurity also arises from Long sentences, or from an Arti- 
ficial Construction of sentences, or from the use of foreign id- 
ioms. 

THE UNINTELLIGIBLE. 

§ 611. I. Obscurity may arise from Confusion of Thought. 
Though distinct thoughts are rendered confused by a gross me- 
dium, no clearness of medium can render a confused thought 
clear. The following indicates a confusion of thought : " The 
serene aspect of these writers, joined with the great encourage- 
ment I observe is given to another, or what is intended to be 
suspected, in which he indulges himself, confirmed me in the 
notion I have of the prevalence of ambition this way." 



696 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

II. Obscurity may arise from Affectation of Elegance. 
" Men must acquire a very peculiar and strong habit of turning 
their eye inward, in order to explore the interior regions and re- 
cesses of the mind, the hollow caverns of deep thought, the pri- 
vate seats of fancy, and the wastes and wildernesses, as well as 
the more fruitful and cultivated tracts, of this obscure climate." 
This is the way in which an author tells us that it is difficult to 
trace the operations of the mind. 

III. Obscurity may arise from "Want of Meaning. " What- 
ever renders a period sweet and pleasant, makes it also grace- 
ful ; a good ear is the gift of Nature. It may be much improved, 
but it can not be acquired by art ; whoever is possessed of it 
will scarcely need dry critical precepts to enable him to judge of 
the true rhythmus and melody of composition : just members, 
accurate proportions, a musical symphony, magnificent figures, 
and that decorum which is the result of all these, are unison to 
the human mind ; we are so framed by nature that their charm 
is irresistible." We have here only some faint glimmerings of 
sense. 

IV. Obscurity may arise from Affectation of Metaphysical 
Depth and Accuracy. " Man is the dwarf of himself. Once 
he was permeated and dissolved by spirit. He filled nature with 
his overflowing currents." 

Y. Obscurity may arise from the Love of Paradox. " The 
Gospel appeals not only to our sense of duty, but to all our self- 
ishness." 

VI. Perspicuity is often violated by the use of the Latin rather 
than the Saxon element of the language. In scientific works, 
words derived from the Classical stock are often especially ap- 
propriate. Indeed, in many cases, there are no equivalent words 
derived from the Anglo-Saxon ; but on common subjects the 
Anglo-Saxon element is much more expressive and perspicuous. 
See § 103. Perspicuity is often violated by the introduction of 
long parentheses. They call off the attention from the main 
subject, and fix it upon what is subordinate, and thus introduce 
confusion into the mind. 



LIVELINESS OF EXPRESSION. (597 



CHAPTER IY. 

LIVELINESS OF EXPRESSION. 

§ 612. Liveliness of Expression is of the greatest import- 
ance to the orator or the writer, inasmuch as it serves to fix the 
attention of the hearer or the reader, to awaken his imagina- 
tion, and to impress the thought conveyed upon the memory. 

I. Liveliness of Expression as depending on the choice of 

WORDS. 

1. In the Song of Moses on the shores of the Red Sea, the in- 
spired poet says, " They sank as lead in the mighty waters." 
Make but a small alteration in the expression, and say, " They 
fell as metal in the mighty waters," and the difference in the 
impression produced on the mind will be quite remarkable. In 
the one case we have the specific terms, sank and lead ; in the 
other the generic terms, fell and metal. In the one case the 
picture is more distinct and brighter than the other. Specific 
Terms are more striking and vivid than General Terms. 

2. Words of Anglo- Saxon origin produce a livelier impres- 
sion than those of Latin origin. " You lie /" will awaken more 
feeling than " You tell a, falsehood." 

3. Words used Tropically are more expressive than other 
words. See § 568. 

II. Liveliness of Expression as depending on the number of 
words. As a general rule, the fewer the words, the more lively 
the expression. " Brevity is the soul of wit." The principal 
faults committed against brevity are, 

1. Tautology, which is the repetition of some idea in differ- 
ent words; as, "It was the privilege and birthright of every 
citizen and poet to rail aloud and in public." 

2. Pleonasm. This implies bare superfluity, or more than 
enough; as, " They returned back again to the same city from 
whence they came forth." 

3. Verbosity. The difference between Yerbosity and Pleo- 
nasm is, that in the latter there are words which add nothing 
to the sense ; and in the former, not only single words, but whole 
clauses may have a meaning, and yet it were better to omit 



698 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

them, because what they mean is unimportant. Instead of en- 
livening the expression, they make it languish. 

III. Liveliness of Expression as depending on the Arrange- 
ment of words. "Fallen, fallen is Babylon, that great city !" 
How much more lively is the impression which it produces in 
this arrangement of the words than the following : " Babylon 
is fallen, is fallen, that great city !" The first is the order of 
the original Greek ; the second, that of the received version. 

" Not in the legions 
Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned 
In ills to top Macbeth!" 

This is the arrangement adapted to the speaker's purpose. 
How much superior it is in liveliness of expression to the same 
words in the following grammatical arrangement : "A more 
damned devil in the legions of horrid hell can not come to top 
Macbeth in ills !" 

The general rule for the arrangement of words is, that the 
thought which is prominent in the speaker's mind should he 
the prominent thought in the sentence. 

RHETORICAL SENTENCES. 

§ 613. Sentences rhetorically considered are of two kinds : 
Periodic Sentences and Loose Sentences. 

A Periodic Sentence, or a Period, is a sentence so framed 
that the grammatical structure will not admit of a close before 
the end of it ; or it is one in which the meaning remains sus- 
pended until the whole is finished. " I am not of the mind of 
those speculators who seem assured that all states have the same 
period of infancy, manhood, and decrepitude, that are found in 
individuals." Here the sense remains suspended until the close 
of the sentence. So in the following sentence : " But if there 
be reason to be slow in rejecting the new proposition, still more 
is there necessity for caution in its adoption." 

A Loose Sentence is any one that is not a period ; as, " I 
have told you already of mental ailments ; and it is a very pos- 
sible thing also that I may be bodily ill again in town, which I 
would not choose to be in a dirty, inconvenient lodging, where, 
perhaps, my nurse might stifle me with a pillow ; and, there- 
fore, it is no wonder if I prefer your house." In all loose sen- 



LIVELINESS OF EXPRESSION. (399 

tences, as in this, there is always one place at least before the 
end, at ivhicli if you make a stop, the construction of the pre- 
ceding part luill render it a complete sentence. 

The Period, as "being the most vigorous and lively, is espe- 
cially adapted to certain parts of an oration, and certain species 
of writing, where force and finish are necessary. The sense 
being suspended, keeps the attention awake until the close of 
the sentence. 

Of all parts of speech, remarks Campbell, conjunctions are 
the most unfriendly to vivacity, and, next to them, the relative 
pronouns, as partaking of the nature of the conjunction. Intro- 
duce the conjunction and between the different members of the 
following passage, and you greatly lessen its remarkable liveli- 
ness: 

" And the enemy said, I will pursue ; I will overtake ; I will 
divide the spoil ; my revenge will be satiated upon them ; I will 
draw my sword ; my hand shall destroy them : Thou blewest 
with Thy breath ; the sea covered them ; they sank as lead in 
the mighty waters !" 

THE CONSTITUENT PARTS OF A DISCOURSE. 

§ 614. I. The Exordium, or Introduction. II. The Enun- 
ciation and Division of the subject. III. The Narration or 
Explication. IV. The Reasoning or Arguments. Y. The 
Pathetic part. YI. The Peroration or Conclusion. It does 
not fall within the limits of the present work to exhibit speci- 
mens and illustrations of these several parts, though they are 
rhetorical forms of great value. 



EXERCISES UNDER PART VII. 

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS. 

§ 615. Rhetorical Analysis is that process by which the 
Rhetorical forms are separated from the body of a discourse, and 
named and exhibited. In this way, the constituent parts of the 
discourse of the great orators can be distinctly seen, and those 
modes of expression which are perspicuous, and lively, and en- 
ergetic, and beautiful, can be distinguished as examples to be 
imitated. 



700 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

"For the constituent parts of a discourse, the learner is referred 
to the orations of the great masters of eloquence. It is those 
forms only that belong to almost every species of composition 
that are referred to here. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. Ye living flowers, that skirt the eternal frost ! 
Ye wild goats, sporting round the eagle's nest ! 
Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain storm ! 
Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds ! 
Ye signs and wonders of the elements! 

Utter forth God, and fill the hills with praise ! — Coleridge. 

Here the principal figure is Anaphora, " which is the repetition 
of a word at the beginning of several clauses of a sentence." 
See § 576. 

In the expression, " the dread arrows of the clouds," we have 
a Metaphor, " which shows similitude without the sign of com- 
parison." See § 597. 

In every line of the passage we have Personification, which 
is a figure by which the absent are introduced as present, and 
by which inanimate objects and abstract ideas are represented as 
living. See § 602. 

There is also Apostrophe, which is a figure by which the 
speaker turns the current of his discourse, and addresses some 
person or some object different from that to which his discourse 
had been directed. See § 581. 

2. An upright minister asks what recommends a man ; a cor- 
rupt minister, who. — Colton. 

Here is an instance of Antithesis, a figure by which "the 
contrast of words and sentiments is rendered more striking. 
See § 577. 

3. High on a throne of royal state, which far 
Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Ind, 

Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, 
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, 
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised 
To that bad eminence. — Milton. 

"We have here Metonymy, a figure by which one word is put 
for another. See § 598. 

We have also Personification, a figure by which inanimate 
objects and abstract ideas are represented as living. See § 602. 



EXERCISES IN FIGURES OF SPEECH. 7Q1 

"We also have Cataohresis, a figure " by which a word is 
wrested from its original application, and made to express some- 
thing at variance with its true meaning." See § 582. 

4. Homer calls words ivinged ; and the epithet is peculiarly 
appropriate to his, which do indeed seem to fly, so rapid and 
light is their motion, and which have been flying ever since over 
the whole peopled earth, and still hover and brood over many an 
awakened soul. Latin marches, Italian struts, French hops, En- 
glish walks, German rumbles along. The music of Klopstock's 
hexameter is not unlike the tune with which a broad-wheeled 
wagon tries to solace itself when crawling down a hill. But 
Greek flies, especially in Homer. — Guesses at Truth, Second 
Scries. 

Here we have Metaphors, and a Simile, and a number of Per- 
sonifications. 

5. A mirthful man he was ; the snows of age 
Fell, but they did not chill him. Gayety, 
Even in life's closing, touched his teeming brain 
With such wild visions as the setting sun 
Raises in front of some hoar glacier, 

Painting the bleak ice with a thousand hues. — Scott. 

6. Talent convinces ; Genius but excites : 
This tasks the reason ; that the soul delights. 
Talent from sober judgment takes its birth, 
And reconciles the pinion to the earth ; 
Genius unsettles with desires the mind, 
Contented not till earth be left behind. 
Talent, the sunshine on a cultured soil, 
Ripens the fruit by slow degrees for toil ; 
Genius, the sudden Iris of the skies, 

On cloud itself reflects its wondrous dyes, 
And to the earth in tears and glory given, 
Clasps in its airy arch the pomp of heaven! — Bulwer. 

7. The traitor lives ! Lives ! did I say ? He mixes with 
the Senate ; he shares in our counsels ; with a steady eye he 
surveys us ; he anticipates his guilt ; he enjoys his murderous 
thoughts, and coolly marks us out for bloodshed. — Cicero. 

8. To fall asleep in this benighted world, 

And in an instant wake in realms of day. — Wilcox. 

9. She repeats the Creed in dying, and, like other Mussul- 
mans, says, " In this faith I have lived, in this faith I die, and 
in this faith I hope to rise again."— -Bishop South gate. 



702 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

10. I do not attack him from love of glory, but from love of 
utility : as a burgomaster hunts a rat in a Dutch dike, for fear 
it should flood a province.' — Rev. Sydney Smith. 

11. Of Chalmers, Canning said, " The tartan beats us; we 
have no preaching like that in England." 

12. Private credit is wealth ; public honor is security. The 
feather that adorns the royal bird supports his flight : strip him 
of his plumage, and you fix him to the earth. — Junius. 

13. The chariot! the chariot! its wheels roll on fire! 
As the Lord cometh down in the pomp of his ire : 
Self-moving it drives on its pathway of cloud, 

And the heavens with the burden of Godhead are bowed ! 

MlLMAN. 

14. Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows, 

While proudly rising o'er the azure realm, 
In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes ; 

Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm ; 
Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway, 
That, hushed in grim repose, expects his evening prey. — Gray. 

\5. ' He loved his friends with such a warmth of heart, 
So clear of interest, so devoid of art ; 
Such generous friendship, such unshaken zeal, 
No words can speak it, but our tears can tell. 
O candid truth ! of faith without a stain ; 
O manners ! gently fair and nobly plain ; 
O sympathizing love of others' bliss ! 
Where will you find another breast like his'? — Lord Lyttelton. 

16. " An ambition to have a place in the registers of Fame is 
me Eurystheus which imposes heroic labors on mankind." 

17. " Conscience, good my lord, is but the pulse of reason." 

18. "I move that the committee be full." 

" I would modify the gentleman's motion by moving that the 
chair be added to the committee." 

19. Yon row of visionary pines, 

By twilight glimpse discovered ! Mark ! how they flee 
From the fierce sea-blast, all their tresses wild 
Streaming before them ! — Wordsworth. 

20. " A blind man is necessarily a man of much feeling' ; 
his progress through life is touching in the extreme." 

21. " "What an awful thing it must be for a man to lie at the 
point of death." 



EXERCISES IN FIGURES OF SPEECH. 703 

22. I see a voice ; now will I to the chinks to 

Spy an I can hear my Thisbe's face. — Shakspeare. 

23. Between two dogs, which flies the higher pitch ; 
Between two dogs, which hath the deeper mouth ; 
Between two blades, which bears the better temper ; 
Between two horses, which doth bear him best ; 
Between two giris, which hath the merriest eye ; 

I have, perhaps, some shallow spirit of judgment; 

But in these nice, sharp quillets of the law, 

Good faith ! I am no wiser than a daw. — King Henry VI. 

24. Farewell ! farewell ! until Pity's sweet fountain 

Is lost in the hearts of the fair and the brave, 
They'll weep for the chieftain who died on that mountain, 
They'll weep for the maiden who sleeps in this wave. 

Lallah Rookh 

25. While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand ; 
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall ; 
And when Rome falls — the world ! — Byron. 

26. Hear me, my mother Earth ! Behold it, Heaven ! 

Have I not had to wrestle with my lot? 
Have I not suffered things to be forgiven % 
Have I not had my brain seared, my heart riven, 

Hopes sapp'd, name blighted, life's life lied away ? 
And only not to desperation driven, 

Because not altogether of such clay 
As rots into the souls of those whom I survey. — Byron. 

27. " Grant me one leaf of Daphne's deathless plant, 

Nor let thy votary's hope be deemed an idle vaunt." 

28. Do you not imagine that Themistocles also, and those 
who fell at Marathon and at Plataea, and the very tombs of our 
ancestors, will raise a groan, if this man, who, avowedly siding 
with barbarians, opposed the Greeks, shall be crowned ? — JE s- 

CHINES. 

29. I then — I call you witness, ye earth and sun ! and vir- 
tue, and intellect, and education, by which we distinguish what 
is honorable from what is base — have given my help and have 
spoken ; and if I have conducted the accusation adequately, and 
in a manner worthy of the transgression of the laws, I have 
spoken as I wished; if imperfectly, then only as I have been 
able. But do you, both from what has been said and what has 
been omitted, of yourselves, decide as is just and convenient on 
behalf of the country. — iEscHiNEs. 



704 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

30. But it can not be ! No, my countrymen ! it can not be 
you have acted wrong in encountering danger bravely for the 
liberty and safety of all Greece. No ! by those generous souls 
of ancient times who were exposed at Marathon ! By those 
who stood arrayed at Platsea ! By those who encountered the 
Persian fleet at Salamis ! who fought at Artemisium ! 'No ! by 
all illustrious sons of Athens, whose remains lie deposited in the 
public monuments ! — Demosthenes. 

31. Slave of the dark and dirty mine ! 

What vanity has brought thee here % 
How can I love to see thee shine 

So bright, whom I have bought so dear? 
The tent-ropes flapping lone I hear, 

For twilight converse arm in arm ; 
The jackal's shriek bursts on my ear, 

When mirth and music w r ont to cheer. — Leyden. 

32. Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and 
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no varia- 
bleness, neither shadow of turning.— N. Testament. 

33. I burn ! I burn ! as when through ripened corn, 
By driving winds the spreading flames are borne ! 
Phaon to ^Etna's scorching fields retires, 

While I consume with more than ^Etna's fires. — Ovid. 

34. O Death all eloquent ! you only prove 

What dust we dote on, when 'tis man we love. — Pope 

35. For what greater blow could those judges — if they are to 
be called judges, and not rather parricides of their country — 
have given to the state than when they banished that very man 
who, when prsetor, delivered the republic from a neighboring, 
and who, when consul, saved it from a civil war. — Cicero. 

36. What beck'ning ghost along the moonlight shade 
Invites my steps, and points to yonder glade 1 
'Tis she ; but why that bleeding bosom gored? 
Why dimly gleams the visionary sword ? 

O ever beauteous, ever friendly, tell, 

Is it in heaven a crime to love too well 1 

To bear too tender or too firm a heart, 

To act a lover's or a Roman's part 1 

Is there no bright reversion in the sky 

For those who greatly think or bravely die ? — Pope. 

37. But what could you have done in such a case and at 



EXERCISES IN FIGURES OF SPEECH. 7Q5 

such a juncture ? when to have sat still or to have withdrawn 
would have been cowardice, when the wickedness and fury of 
Saturnius had sent for you into the Capitol, and the consul had 
called you to protect the safety and liberty of your country ? 
Whose authority, whose voice, which party would you have 
followed ? and whose orders would you have chosen to obey ? — 
Cicero. 

38. Some have at first for wits, then poets pass'd, 

Turn'd critics next, and proved plain fools at last. — Pope. 

39. As the stream, late conceal'd by the fringe of its willows, 
When it rushes reveal'd by the light of its billows ; 

As the bolt bursts on high from the black cloud that bound it, 
Flash'd the soul of that eye through the long lashes round it. 

Byron. 

40. Her hair, I said, was auburn, but her eyes 

Were black as death, their lashes the same hue, 
Of downcast length, in whose silk shadow lies 
Deepest attraction. — Byron. 

41. When Freedom, dress'd 
In blood-stain'd vest, 

To every knight her war-song sung ; 
Upon her head wild weeds were spread, 
A gory anlace by her hung. 

42. " Jeremy Taylor is the Shakspeare of divinity." 

43. Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes, 

And broods them o'er with miser care ; 
Time but the impression stronger makes, 

As streams their channel deeper wear. — Burns. 

44. I am a Royalist, I blushed for the degradation of the 
crown. I am a Whig, I blushed for the dishonor of Parliament. 
I am a true Englishman, I felt to the quick for the disgrace of 
England. I am a man, I felt for the melancholy reverse of hu- 
man affairs in the fall of the first power in the world. — Burke. 

45. For a good opinion begets security ; security begets neg- 
ligence ; temptation a fall; (and, if unrepented), a fall into that 
state where our wish will be that we never had been born. — 
Young. 

46. That he is mad 'tis true, 'tis pity ; 
And pity 'tis, 'tis true. — Hamlet. 

47. May the grass wither from thy feet ! the woods 
Deny thee shelter ! earth a home ! the dust 

A grave ! the sun his light! and heaven a God ! — Byron's Cain. 

Yy 



706 RHETORICAL FORMS. 

48. As for me, says Luther, I do not cease the cry of the 
Gospel ! Grospel ! Christ ! Christ ! And my opponents are 
ready with their answers : Custom ! Custom ! Ordinances ! 
Ordinances ! Fathers ! Fathers ! — D'Aubigne. 

49. Of heaven, if thou wouldst reach a gleam, 

On humblest object fix thy eyes ; 
So travelers in a picturing stream, 

Look down, indeed, but see the skies. — L. Withingt.on. 

50. " When young-eyed Spring profusely throws 

From her green lap the pink and rose ; 
When the soft turtle of the dale 
To Summer tells her tender tale ; 
When Autumn cooling caverns seeks, 
And stains with wine his jolly cheeks ; 
When Winter, like a pilgrim old, 
Shakes his silver beard with cold : 
At every season, let my ear 
Thy solemn whispers, Fancy, hear." 

51. Let the bugles sound the Truce of God to the whole 
world forever. Let the selfish boast of the Spartan women be- 
come the grand chorus of mankind, that they have never seen 
the smoke of an enemy's camp. Let the iron belt of martial 
music, which now encompasses the earth, be exchanged for the 
golden cestus of Peace, clothing all with celestial beauty.— 
Charles .Sumner. 

52. Other nations may boast of their magnificent gems and 
monster diamonds. Our Kohinoor is our common school system. 
This is our " mountain of light," not snatched, indeed, as a prize 
from a barbarous foe, nor destined to deck a royal brow, or to 
irradiate a Crystal Palace ; but whose pure and penetrating ray 
illumines every brow, and enlightens every mind, and cheers 
every heart and every hearthstone in the land, and which sup- 
plies " ornaments of grace" unto the head, and chains upon the 
necks of every son and daughter of Massachusetts. — Robert C. 
Winthrop. 

53. " Hope and fear alternate sway'd his breast, 

Like light and shade upon a waving field, 
Coursing each other when the flying clouds 
Now hide and now reveal the scene." 

54. " One from a thousand feather'd deaths he chose." 

55. James (the royal poet) is evidently worthy of being en- 



EXERCISES IN FIGURES OF SPEECH. 707 

rolled in that little constellation of remote, but never-failing lu- 
minaries, who shine in the highest firmament of literature, and 
who, like the morning stars, sang together at the dawning of 
British poetry. — "W. Irving. 

56. The mind of England's Elizabeth was like one of those 
ancient Dmidical monuments called rocking-stones. The finger 
of Cupid, boy as he is painted, could put her feelings in motion ; 
but the power of Hercules could not have destroyed their equi- 
librium. — Scott. 

57. Our present repose is no more proof of inability to act, 
than the state of inertness and inactivity in which I have seen 
those mighty masses that float in the waters above your town 
is a proof that they are devoid of strength, and incapable of be- 
ing fitted for action. You well know how soon one of these 
stupendous masses, now reposing on their shadows with perfect 
stillness ; how soon, upon any call of patriotism or of necessity, 
it would assume the likeness of an animated thing, instinct with 
life and motion ; how soon it would ruffle, as it were, its swell- 
ing plumage ; how quickly it would put forth all its beauty and 
bravery, collect its scattered elements of strength, and awaken 
its dormant thunders. Such is one of those magnificent ma- 
chines when springing from inaction into a display of its might ; 
such is England herself; while apparently passive and motion- 
less, she silently concentrates the power to be put forth on ade* 
quate occasion.' — Canning. 

synthesis. 

1. Compose a passage which shall contain an Allegory. 

2. Compose a sentence which shall contain an Allusion. 

3. Compose a sentence which shall contain an Anaccenosis. 

4. Compose, in like manner, in succession, sentences which 
shall severally contain all the figures of speech described in this 
work. 



PART VIII. 

POETICAL FORMS. 
CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 



DEFINITIONS. 

§ 616. Poetical Forms are those combinations of language 
which are characterized by certain specific differences between 
them and composition in general. These differences relate to 
the laws of Prosody. Poetry, besides holding much in common 
with Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric, has certain laws of its own. 
Grammar aims at the correct use of language for the common 
understanding of those who speak and write it. Logic address- 
es the reasoning faculty. Rhetoric endeavors to persuade the 
will to action. The aim of Poetry is to please, by addressing 
the imagination, the taste, the sensibilities. In order to give 
pleasure, it uses the forms of Grammar, of Logic, of Rhetoric, 
and also those peculiar forms which are indicated by Pros- 
ody. Thus a dactyl, a verse, and a stanza are Poetical forms. 

PROSODY. 

§ 617. Prosody, from the Greek irpog (for), ydrj (song), Latin 
accentus, originally signified accent. It is now used in a wider 
sense, and includes not only the doctrines of Accent and Quan- 
tity, but also the laws of metrical arrangement. 

ACCENT. 

§ 618. Accent or Stress bears the same relation to poetry in 
modern languages which Quantity does to that of the Sanscrit, 
the Greek, and Latin. In the great family of languages called 
the Indo-European, three made time the index of their rhythm, 
while all the rest employed accent. It is remarkable that those 
dialects which now represent the Sanscrit, the Greek, the Latin, 



710 POETICAL FORMS. 

have lost their Temporal, and possess merely the Accentual 
rhythm. So gradual was the change in the Greek, that even 
as late as the eleventh century there were authors who wrote 
indifferently in either rhythm. 

Et can|tare pa|res et | respon|dere pa|rati. — Virgil. 

Here the rhythm is formed by Long and Short syllables. 

She taught' | the weak' | to bend', | the proud' | to pray'. — Pope. 

Here the rhythm is formed by Accented and Unaccented syl- 
lables. 

QUANTITY. 

§ 619. Moreover, in the Classical languages, quantity was 
measured by the length of the Syllables, while in the English 
language quantity is measured by the length of the Yowels. 
Thus both syllables of the word index in Latin are long ; both 
vowels of the same word in English are short. Accordingly, 
the word forms a Spondee in Latin, and, being accented on the 
first syllable, a Trochee in English. 

It ought, however, to be added, that while there is a differ- 
ence in respect to Quantity and Accent in Classical versifica- 
tion and English, there is also an agreement, which, in the com- 
mon statements, is apt to be lost sight of. In both Classical 
versification and English, time and accent enter as elements, 
but in different proportions, though in the one, quantity, and 
in the other, accent or stress, predominates. This may be the 
better understood from the following statement. 

ELEMENTS OF MUSICAL COMPOSITION. 

§ 620. There are three elements of musical composition: 
1. Time ; 2. Acuteness, or its opposite. Gravity ; 3. Loudness. 
Now it is certain that the early poems in Greece were sung, and 
this must have had an influence on the poetry by the introduc- 
tion of the three elements of music just mentioned. 

The same was true in ancient English. Chaucer, in his ad- 
dress to Troilus and Cressida, tells us that it was intended " to 
be read or elles sung" which must relate to the chanting reci- 
tation of the minstrels. 

The same qualities exist in spoken sounds. In these sounds, 



PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 7H 

as in music, they are distinct from one another, and no two are 
necessarily united. Still, there are natural causes which make 
it likely that they will be combined under certain conditions. 
Muscular effort, when made to give loudness, naturally requires 
time, so that loudness and length often go together. Again, if 
two syllables of the same time are pronounced with the same 
quantity of breath, there is a mechanical cause why the acute 
should be the louder. Acuteness and loudness will then go to- 
gether. Equality of time is a condition of this result. 

The Greek language differed from the English in one import- 
ant point. The quantity or time of separate syllables was far 
more distinctly ascertained, and measured, and expressed in 
common pronunciation than it is in English. 

It is indeed true that in English some verses are longer than 
others ; for every addition of a consonant must lengthen the syl- 
lable, whether the consonant be added at the beginning of a syl- 
lable, as Ass, lass, glass ; or at the end, as Ask, asks, ask'st. 

The poet, if his ear is good, will avail himself of the differ- 
ence in the length of syllables to vary the rhythm of his verse ; 
but, though the effect of his skill may be felt by the reader, the 
management of quantity in English verse can not be reduced to 
technical rules : accent must form the law of his rhythm. See 
Part III, Chapter IV. 

METRE. 

§ 621. Metre or Meter is a general term for the recurrence, 
within certain intervals, of syllables similarly affected. The 
metres of the Classical languages consist essentially in the re- 
currence of similar quantities. English metre essentially con- 
sists in the recurrence of syllables similarly accented. 

Yerse has been defined as a succession of articulate sounds, 
regulated by a rhythm so definite that we can readily foresee 
the results which follow from its application. There is, indeed, 
also a rhythm met with in prose ; but in the latter its range is 
so wide that we can never anticipate its flow, while the pleas- 
ure we derive from verse is founded on this very anticipation. 
The metrical arrangeme?it of articulate sounds in verse, and 
not the superior beauty of thought or expression, is the dis- 
tinctive characteristic of poetry. 



712 POETICAL FORMS. 

Heap on' | more wood' ! | the wind' | is chill' ; 
But let' | it whis'|tle as' | it will', 
We'll keep' | our Christ'|mas mer'|ry still' : 
Each age' | has deemed' | the new' | -born year' 
The fit'|test time' | for fes'|tal cheer' ! — Scott. 

Here every other syllable is accented, and every other syllable 
unaccented. When we understand that this is the law of the 
rhythm, we know what to expect in each successive syllable. 
It should be added, that it is more important to preserve the 
same number of accents in lines intended to be of the same 
measure than the same number of syllables. 

" Patience is a virtue that shines' bright'' in adver'sity." 
Here the accent follows no law, but falls on the 1st, 5th, 8th, 
9th, 12th. You can not predict the character of the successive 
syllables from the law of the rhythm. 

The measured extract is Poetry ; the unmeasured is Prose. 

" There is, however, a partial exception to this law in our 
ballad metres, where feet of three syllables are frequently inter- 
mingled with the ordinary feet of two syllables. When this is 
the case, the redundant syllables must be devoid of stress and 
very short, so that they may be pronounced rapidly, and make 
the time of the trisyllabic foot equal to the time of the common 
foot. We will take an example from Scott's Bridal of Trier- 
maine, from the description of the tournament : 

" ' They air | arise' | to fight' | that prize', 

They all' | arise' | but three' ; 
And still' | those lov^ers' fame' | survives', 

For faith' | so con'|stant shown' : 
There were two' | of them loved' | their neigh' |bors' wives', 

And one' | of them loved' | his own'.' 

When this license is taken frequently, the metre becomes of 
that species which Mr. Guest has described under the very dis- 
respectful name borrowed from King James of Scotland, who 
called them < tumbling metres.' These tumbling metres seem 
to have led the way to the construction of verse with a regular 
anapestic rhythm, of which we have a noble specimen in Camp- 
bell's LochielP — Professor Malden. 

A Yerse is a single line of poetry. 

A Distich or couplet consists of two verses. 



PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 713 

A triplet consists of three verses. 

Versification is the act of making verses in accordance with 
the doctrines of accent and quantity, and the laws of metrical 
arrangement. 

MEASURES. 

§ 622. For every accented syllable in the following line write 
the letter a, and for every unaccented one the letter x, so that 
a stands for an accent, and x for the absence of one : 

Hast thou' I a charm' | to stay' | the morn'|ing star' 1 — Coleridge. 
Or, expressed symbolically : 

x a, x a, x a, x a, x a. 
When x coincides with hast, and a with thou, you may de- 
termine the length of the line in two ways : you may either 
measure by the syllable, and say that the line consists of ten 
syllables ; or by the accents, and say that it consists of five ac- 
cents. In this latter case, we take the accented syllable and its 
corresponding unaccented syllable, and, grouping the two to- 
gether, deal with the pair at once. Now a Group of syllables, 
taken together, is called a Measure or a Foot. Thus, hast 
thou (x a) is one measure, a charm (x a) another, and so on 
throughout. The line itself consists of five measures. Meas- 
ures, being the same as musical bars, received the name of 
Feet, because their time was regulated by the foot of the Cory- 
pheus or director of the Grreek choirs. This action was called 
beatinsr time. 

o 

A foot or measure composed of an unaccented and an accent- 
ed syllable (x a) is an Iambus. A foot composed of an accent- 
ed and an unaccented syllable [a x) is a Trochee. A foot com- 
posed of two accented syllables [a a) is called a Spondee. A 
foot composed of two unaccented syllables (x x) is called a Pyr- 
rhic. A foot composed of one accented and two unaccented syl- 
lables (a x x) is a Dactyl. A foot composed of one unaccented 
syllable and one accented and one unaccented (x a x) is an Am- 
phibrach. A foot composed of two unaccented syllables and one 
accented (x x a) is an Anapest. 



714 POETICAL FORMS. 



DISSYLLABIC MEASURES. 

1. The following is composed of Iambics, according to the for- 
mula x a : 

Sweet Thir'|za ! wak'|ing as' | in sleep', 

Thou art' | but now' | a love'|ly dream' ; 
A star' | that trem'|bled o'er' | the deep', 

Then turned' | from earth' | its ten'jder beam' : 
But he' | who through' | life's drear' \y way' 

Must pass' | when heaven' | is veiled' | in wrath'. 
Will long' | lament' j the van'|ished ray' 

That scat'jtered glad'|ness o'er' | his path'. — Byron. 

2. The following is composed of Trochees. The accented syl- 
lable comes first, the unaccented one follows, the formula being 
a x: 

Lay' thy | bow' of [ pearl' a[part', 

And' thy | sil'ver | shin'ing | quiv'er ; 
Give' un|to' the | fly'ing | hart' 

Time' to | breathe' how | short' sojev'er ; 
Thou' that | mak'st' a | day' of J night', 

God'dess ! | ex'quisjite'ly | bright'. — Ben Jonson. 

TRISYLLABIC MEASURES. 

The number of these is limited to three, the Dactyl, the Am- 
phibrach, the Anapest. 

1. The first of these, the Dactyl, is exhibited in the word 
mer'rily (a x x). 

Mer'rily, | mer'rily | shall' I live | now', 

TJn'der the | blos'som that | hangs' on the | bough'. — Shakspeare. 

2. The second, the Amphibrach, is exhibited in the word dis- 
able (x a x). 

But vain'ly | thou war'rest : 
For this' is | alone 7 in 

Thy power' | to | declare', 
That in' the | dim for'est 

Thou heard"st a | low moan'ing, 

And saw'st' a | bright la'dy | surpass'ing|ly fair'. — Coleridge. 

3. The third, the Anapest, is exhibited in the word cavalier' 
(x x a). 

There's a beau'|ty forev'|er unfad'|ingly bright', 

Like the long' | sunny lapse' | of a sum'|mer day's light'; 

Shining on', | shining on', | by no shad'|ow made ten'|der, 

Till love' | falls asleep' | in the same'|ness of splen'|dor. — Moore. 



PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 715 

A Cj3Sura is a pause in a verse. 

Warms in the sun, || refreshes in the breeze, 

Glows in the stars, || and blossoms in the trees. — Pope. 

RHYME. 

§ 623. Rhyme has been denned as the correspondence which 
exists between syllables containing sounds similarly modified. 

It is not a mere ornament : it marks and defines the accent, 
and thereby strengthens and supports the rhythm. Its advant- 
ages have been felt so strongly, that no people have ever adopt- 
ed an accented rhythm without also adopting rhyme. 

The moon is in her summer glow, 
But hoarse and high the breezes blow ; 
And, racking o'er her face, the cloud 
Varies the tincture of her shroud. — Scott. 

Here the last syllables of each line in the two couplets are said 
to rhyme with each other. 

Fair queen ! I will not blame thee now, 

As once by Greta's fairy side ; 
Each little cloud that dimm'd thy brow 

Did then an angel's beauty hide. — RoJceby. 

Here the rhyming lines come alternately. 

What is grandeur? what is power? 
Heavier toil, superior pain ; 
What the bright reward we gain % 
The grateful memory of the good. 
Sweet is the breath of vernal shower ; 
The bee's collected treasure's sweet ; 
Sweet music's melting fall ; but sweeter yet 
The still, small voice of gratitude. — Gray. 

Here the rhymes occur at wider intervals. 

For two or more words to rhyme with each other, it is nec- 
essary, 

1. That the vowel be the same in both. 

2. That the parts following the vowel be the same. 

3. That the parts preceding the vowel be different. 
Beyond this, it is necessary that the syllables, to form a full 

and perfect rhyme, should be accented syllables. Sky and lie 
form good rhymes, but sky and merri/7/ bad ones, and merrily 
and silly worse. See Latham. 



16 POETICAL FORMS. 



IMPERFECT RHYMES. 

§ 624. 1. None and own are better rhymes than none and 
man, because there are degrees in amount to which vowels dif- 
fer from one another, and the sounds of the o in none and o in 
own are more alike than the sounds of o in none and the a in 
man. In like manner, breathe and teeth are nearer to rhymes 
than breathe and tease ; and breathe and tease are more alike 
in sound than breathe and teal. All this is because the sound 
of th in teeth is more allied to that of th in breathe than that of 
s in tease; and the 5 in tease is more allied to the same sound 
(th) than the I in £ea/. This shows that in imperfect rhymes 
there are degrees, and that some approach the nature of true 
rhymes more than others. 

2. In matters of rhyme the letter h counts as nothing. High 
and 1, hair and air, are imperfect rhymes, because h (being no 
articulate sound) counts for nothing, and so the parts before the 
vowels * and a are not different (as they ought to be), but 
identical. 

Whose generous children narrow'd not their hearts 
With commerce, given alone to arms and arts. — Byron. 

3. "Words where the letters coincide, but the sounds differ, are 
only rhymes to the eye : breathe and beneath are in this predic- 
ament ; so also are cease and ease (eaze.) 

In the fat age of pleasure, wealth, and ease, 

Sprang the rank weed, and thrived with large increase. — Pope. 

4. If the sounds coincide, the difference of the letters is un- 
important. 

They talk of principles, but notions prize ; 
And all to one loved folly sacrifice. — Pope. 

DOUBLE AND TRIPLE RHYMES. 

§ 625. An accented syllable standing by itself, and coming 

under the conditions given above, constitutes a Single Rhyme. 

An accented syllable followed by an unaccented one, coming 

under the conditions given above, constitutes a Double Rhyme. 

When Love came first to earth, the Spring- 

Spread rose-buds to receive him ; 
And back, he vow'd, his flight he'd wing 
To heaven, if she should leave him. 



PRELIMINARY .STATEMENTS. 7I7 

But Spring departing, saw his faith 

Pledged to the next new-comer ; 
He revel'd in the warmer breath 

And richer bowers of Summer. 
The sportive Autumn claim'd by rights 

An Archer for her lover ; 
And even in Winter's dark, cold nights, 

A charm he could discover. 
Her routs, and balls, and fireside joy, 

For this time were his reasons ; 
In short, Young Love's a gallant boy 

That likes all times and seasons. — Campbell. 

An accented syllable followed by two unaccented ones, and 
coming under the conditions stated above, constitutes a Trebi* ^ 
Rhyme. 

Oh ye immortal gods ! what is theogony f 

Oh thou, too, immortal man ! what is philanthropy f 

Oh world that was and is ! what is cosmogony f 
Some people have accused me of misanthropy, 

And yet I know no more than the mahogany 

That forms this desk of what they mean : lycanthropy 

I comprehend ; for, without transformation, 

Men become wolves on any slight occasion. — Byron. 

MIDDLE RHYME. 

§ 626. Middle Rhyme is that which exists between the last 
accented syllables of the two sections of a line. 

Happy, ye sons of busy life, 
Who, equal to the bustling strife, 

No other view regard, 
Ev'n when the wish'd end's denied ; 
Yet, when the busy means are plied, 
They bring their own reward : 
While I, a hope-abandon'd wight, 

Unfitted with an aim, 
Meet every sad returning night 

And joyless morn the same ! 
You, bustling and jostling, 

Forget each care and pain ; 
I, listless yet restless, 

Find every prospect vain ! — Burns. 

And now there came both mist and snow, 

And it grew wondrous cold ; 
And ice, mast-high, came floating by 

As green as emerald. 



718 POETICAL FORMS. 

The ice was here, the ice was there, 

The ice was all around : 
It crack'd and growVd, and roar'd and howVd 

Like noises in a swound. — Coleridge. 

SECTIONAL RHYME. 

§ 627. Sectional Rhyme is that which exists between sylla- 
bles contained in the same section. 

Will stoode for skill, | and law obeyed lust ; 

Might trode down right ; | of king there was no feare. — Ferrers. 
Lightly and brightly breaks away 
The morning from her mantle gray. — Byron. 
So many as love me, and use me aright, 
With treasure and pleasure I richly requite. — Tusser. i 

INVERSE RHYME. 

§ 628. Inverse Rhyme is that which exists between the last 
accented syllable of the first section and the first accented syl- 
lable of the second. 

The piper loud and louder blew ; 
The dancers quick and quicker flew. — Burns. 
These steps both reach, and teach thee shall 
To come by thrift, to shift withal. — Tusser. 

W O R D-M A T C H I N G. 

§ 629. " There is in Eastern poetry a kind of word-rhyming 
or word-matching, in which every word of a line is answered by 
another of the same measure and rhyme in the other line of the 
distich." 

She drove her flock o'er mountains, 

By grove, or rock, ox fountains. 

Now, now I needs must part, 

Parting though I absent mourn ; 

Absence can no joy impart, 

Joy once fled can ne'er return. 

ALLITERATION. 

§ 630. Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter at the 
commencement of two or more words, or at short intervals ; as, 

Who often, but without success, have pray'd 
For apt alliteration's artful aid. 

Alliteration is the distinctive characteristic of the Anglo-Sax- 
on, and, indeed, of all the Gothic metres. 



PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 7X9 

Rathe was gefylled 
Heah cyninge's has, him was haling leoht. 

Quick was fulfill'd 
The high king's 'hest, around him was holy light. — C^edmon. 
On last legdun, I at hum leodum. 
At foot they laid on the loathed bonds. 

Brunanburgh War Song. 
As one that runnes beyond his race and rows beyond his reach. 

Bourcher. 
When Sound to some Say 
In the billowy ocean, 
O'er sea rolling surges 
The sailors are steering, 
God weighs on his waters 
Their wandering bark, 
And wafts them with winds 
On their watery way. 

TASK POUT FY. 

§ 631. The following is a task poem of Greorge Herberts. 
The task is, that the last words of the latter two lines of each 
verse are formed by dropping letters from the last words of the 
former ones : 

Inclose me still, for fear I start, 

Be to me rather sharp and tart, 

Than let me want thy hand and art. 

Such sharpness shows the sweetest friend, 

Such cuttings rather heal than rend, 

And such beginnings touch their end. 

The following task distich is formed of three lines of the frag- 
ments of words, so that those of the middle one read with either 
of the other two : 

cur- f- w- d- dis- and p- 

A -sed -iend -rought -eath -ease -ain. 

bles- fr- b- br- and ag- 

A cursed fiend wrought death, disease, and pain ; 
A blessed friend brought breath and ease again. 

BLANK VERSE. 

§ 632. Rhyme is not essential to English verse. It is an or- 
nament, and something more. Final rhyme has been called a 
" time-beater :" it separates each verse from the others by a dis- 
tinct boundary, and thus contributes to the measure. Still, it is 



720 POETICAL FORMS. 

not essential. Measures, where there are no rhymes, are called 
Blank Verse. It is a general rule that every verse shall end 
with an important word. 

All night the dreadless angel, unpursued, 

Through heaven's wide champaign held his way ; till Morn, 

Waked by the circling Hours, with rosy hand 

TJnbarr'd the gates of light. — Milton. 

The rolling year 
Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleasing spring 
Thy beauty walks, thy tenderness and love. 
Wide flush the fields, the softening air is balm, 
Echo the mountains round, the forest smiles, 
And every sense and every heart is joy. — Thomson. 

POETICAL LICENSE. 

§ 633. The Rules of Syntax are sometimes traversed by the 
practice of the poets. 

1 . The verb precedes the nominative ; as, 

Sunk was the sun, and up the eastern heaven, 
Like maiden on a lonely pilgrimage, 
Moved the meek star of eve. — Milman. 

2. The verb follows the accusative ; as, 

His prayer he saith, this holy man. — Keats. 

3. The noun precedes the adjective ; as, 

'Twas in youth, that hour of dreaming, 

Hound me visions fair were beaming. — Mrs. Norton. 

4. The infinitive mode precedes the governing word ; as, 

When first thy sire, to send on earth 
Virtue, his darling child, designed. — Gray. 

5. An intransitive verb is placed at the beginning of a sen- 
tence; as, 

Air blacken'd, rolVd the thunder, groaned the ground. — Dryden- 

6. Adverbs precede the words which they qualify ; as, 

The plowman homeward plods his weary way. — Gray. 

7. The preposition follows its governing word ; as, 

" Where echo walks steep hills among.' 1 '' 

8. The article is often omitted ; as, 

" What dreadful pleasure ! there to stand, sublime, 
Like shipwreck'd mariner on desert coast." 

9. Compound epithets are frequently used ; as, 

O music ! sphere-descended maid ! — Collins. 



PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 721 

10. A positive is joined with a comparative ; as, 

"Near, and more near, the intrepid beauty press'd." 

11. After a pronoun its representative noun is repeated ; as, 

"It ceased the melancholy sound" 

12. The relative is omitted ; as, 

" 'Tis Fancy, in her fiery car, 
Transports me to the thickest war !" 

13. The antecedent is omitted ; as, 

" Who never fasts, no banquet e'er enjoys." 

14. Intransitive verbs are made to govern the objective ; as, 

" Still in harmonious intercourse they lived 
The rural day, and taWd the flowing heart" 

15. The uncompounded form of the first and third persons 
imperative is used ; as, 

" Turn we a moment Fancy's rapid flight." 
" Fall he who must beneath a rival's arms." 

16. In the compound tenses the auxiliary only is used ; as, 

" What for ourselves we can is always ours." 

17. The idioms of other languages are used ; as, 

" For not to have been dipp'd in Lethe's lake 

Could save the son of Thetis from to die" 
" He came ; and, standing in the midst, explain'd 

The peace rejected, but the truce detained." 

18. Antiquated words and modes of expression are used ; as, 

" Shall I receive by gift what of my own, 
When where likes me best I can command." 
' "In sooth, he was a strange and wayward wight." 
Some of these forms are not peculiar to poetry. 

ELISION. 

§ 634. Elision, Latin elido, to strike off, is a general term 
for certain Euphonic Figures, in which there is an omission of 
a letter or letters. See § 160. 

' Twas theirs alone to dive into the plan 
That truth and mercy had reveal'd to man. — Cowpkr. 
Hence British poets, too, the priesthood shared, 
And ev'ry hallow'd Druid was a bard. — Cowper. 

For want of faith, 
Down the steep precipice of wrong he slides: 
There's nothing to support him in the right. — Young. 
Who durst defy tK 1 Omnipotent to arms 1 — Milton. 
Because the Father, V whom in Heaven supreme 1 — Milton. 
Zz 



722 POETICAL FORMS. 



CHAPTER II. 

IAMBIC MEASURES. 



IAMBIC MONO METER. 

Formula x a. 
§ 635. In the following extract the two accented lines arc 
each composed of a single Iambus. 

'Twas on a day, 
When the immortals at their banquet lay, 
The bowl' 

Sparkled with starry dew ; 
The weeping of those myriad urns of light, 
Within whose orbs the almighty Power, 

At Nature's dawning hour, 
Stored the rich fluid of ethereal soul ! 

Around' 
Soft odorous clouds that upward wing their flight 

From Eastern isles, &c. — Moore. 

Formula x a + . 
In the following stanzas the three accented lines consist of an 
Iambus and an additional syllable. 

The day had sunk in dim showers, 

But midnight now, with lustre meek, 
Illumined all the pale flowers, 

Like hope that lights a mourner's cheek : 
I said', while 
The moon's' smile 
Played o'er a stream in dimpling bliss, 
" The moon' looks 
On many brooks 
The brook can see no moon but this." 
And thus, I thought, our fortunes run ; 

For many a lover looks to thee : 
While, oh ! I feel there is but one, 

One Mary in the world for me ! — Moore. 

IAMBIC DIMETER. 

Formula x a x 2. 
§ 636. In the following extract the accented lines are com- 
posed of two Iambics. 



IAMBIC MEASURES. 723 

Wheel the wild dance 
While lightnings glance, 

And thunders rattle loud ! 
And call' the brave' 
To blood'y grave', 

To sleep without a shroud ! 
Our air'y feet', 
So light' and fleet', 

They do not bend the rye 
That sinks its head when whirlwinds rave, 
And swells again in eddying wave, 

As each wild gust goes by ; 
But still' the corn', 
At dawn of morn 

Our fatal steps that bore, 
At eve' lies wasted 
A tram'pled paste' 

Of black'ning mud and gore! — Scott. 

Formula x a x 2 -f- . 
In this extract the accented lines are composed of two Iam- 
bics and an additional syllable. 

Could love' forev'er 
Run like' a riv'er, 
And Time's' endeav'or 

Be tried in vain, 
No oth'er pleas'ure 
With this' could meas'ure, 
And, like' a treas'ure, 

We'd hug' the chain'. 

But since' our sigh'ing 
Ends not' in dy'ing, 
And, form'd' for fly'ing, 

Love plumes his wing ; 
Then, for' this rea'son, 
Let's love' a sea'son, 
But let that season 

Be only spring. — Byron. 

IAMBIC TRIMETER. 

Formula x a x 3. 
§ 637. In this extract the accented lines are composed of 

three Iambics. 

We stand among the fallen leaves, 

Young chil'dren at' our play', 
And laugh to see the yellow things 

Go rust'ling on' their way' : 



724 POETICAL FORMS. 

Right merrily we hunt them down, 

The au tumn winds' and we' ; 
Nor pause to gaze where snow-drifts lie, 

Or sunbeams gild' the tree' : 
With dancing feet we leap along 

Where with'er'd boughs' are strewn ;' 
Nor past nor future checks our song — 

The pres'ent is' our own' ! — Mrs. Norton. 

Formula x a x 3 + . 
In this extract the accented lines are composed of three Iam- 
bics, with an additional syllable. 

Then out' spake brave' Hora'tius, 

The captain of the gate : 
To ev'ry man upon this earth, 

Death cometh soon or late ! 
And how' can man' die bet'ter 

Than facing fearful odds 
For the ash'es of his fa'thers, 

And the temple of his gods ? — Macaulay. 

IAMBIC TETRAMETER. 

Formula x a x 4. 
§ 638. In the following the law of the measure is, that there 
should be four Iambics in each line. Instead of an Iambus, 
there is occasionally a Trochee, as in the first foot. This is the 
common octosyllabic verse. 

Child of the country ! free as air 

Art thou', and as' the sun'shine fair' : 

Born, like' the li'ly, where' the dew' 

Lies odorous when the day is new ; 

Fed 'mid the May-flowers, like the bee ; 

Nursed to sweet music on the knee ; 

Lull'd in the breast to that glad tune 

Which winds make 'mong the woods of June : 

I sing of thee ! 'Tis sweet to sing 

Of such a fair and gladsome thing. 

Child of the town ! for thee I sigh ; 

A gilded roofs thy golden sky ; 

A carpet is thy daisied sod ; 

A narrow street thy boundless road ; 

Thy rushing deer's the clattering tramp 

Of watchmen ; thy best light's a lamp ; 

Through smoke, and not through trellis'd vines 

And blooming trees, thy sunbeam shines : 



IAMBIC MEASURES. 725 

I sing of thee in sadness ! Where 

Else is wreck wrought in aught so fair ? — Allan Cunningham. 

Formula ##x4+. 
In this extract the accented lines are composed of four iam- 
bics and an additional syllable. 

Wee, sleek'|it, cow'|rin', tim'|'rous beas'|tie ! 

what a panic's in thy breastie ! 
Thou needna start awa' sae hasty, 

Wi' bickering brattle ! 

1 wad be laith to rin an' chase thee 

Wi' murdering pattle ! 

I'm truly sor'ry man's' domin'ion 
Has bro'ken Na'ture's so'cial un'ion, 
An' jus'tifies' that ill' opin'ion, 

Which makes thee startle 
At me', thy poor' earth-born' compan'ion, 

An' fellow-mortal /—Burns. 

IAMBIC PENTAMETER. 

Formula x a x 5. 
§ 639. In these extracts the law of the measure is, that each 
line should consist of five Iambics. This is called Heroic 
measure. 

Dim as' | the bor'|row'd beams' | of moon' | and stars 

To lone'ly, wea'ry, wan'd'ring travelers' 

Is Reason to the soul ! and as on high 

Those rolling fires discover but the sky, 

Not light, as here ; so Reason's glimmering ray 

AVas lent, not to assure our doubtful way, 

But guide us upward to a better day. — Dryden. 

unexpected stroke ! worse than of Death ! 

Must I leave thee, Paradise 1 thus leave 

Thee, native soil 1 these happy walks and shades, 

Pit haunt of gods 1 where I had hoped to spend 

Quiet, though sad, the respite of that day 

That must be mortal to us both ! flowers ! 

That never will in any other climate grow, 

My early visitation and my last 

At even ; which I bred up with tender hand 

From the first opening bud, and gave ye names : 

Who now shall rear ye to the sun ? or rank 

Your tribes, and water from the ambrosial fount? 

Thee, lastly, nuptial bower ! by me adorn'd 

With what to sight or smell was sweet ! from the« 



726 POETICAL FORMS. 

How shall I part 1 and whither wander down 

Into a lower world, to this obscure , 

And wild 1 How shall we breathe in other air 

Less pure, accustom'd to immortal fruits'? — Milton. 

Formula x a x 5 + . 
In the following extract the accented lines are composed of 
five Iambics and an additional syllable. 

Day-stars', | that ope' | your eyes' | with morn' | to twink'|le, 

From rain'bow gal'axies' of earth's' crea'tion, 
And dew'-drops o'er' her love'ly al'tars sprinkle 

As a libation. 
Ye matin worshipers, who, bending lowly 

Before the uprisen sun, God's lidless eye, 
Throw from your chalices a sweet and holy 

Incense on high ! 
'Neath cloister'd boughs each floral bell that swingeth, 

And tolls its perfume on the passing air, 
Makes Sabbath in the fields, and ringeth 

A call to prayer ! 
Not to that dome where sculptured arch and column 

Attest the feebleness of mortal hand ; 
But to that fane, most catholic and solemn, 

Which God hath plann'd ! 
To that cathedral, boundless as our wonder, 

Whose quenchless lamps the sun and moon supply ; 
Whose choirs the winds and waves ; whose organ, thunder ; 

Whose dome the sky ! 

Horace Smith. 

IAMBIC HEXAMETER. 

Formula x ax 6. 
§ 640. In this measure there are six Iambics. It is usually 
called the Alexandrine. The last line of the Spenserian stanza 
is of this character. 

When Phce'|bus lifts' j his head' | out of | the win'jter's wave', 

No sooner doth the earth her flow'ry bosom brave, 

At such time as the year brings on the pleasant spring, 

But hunts-up to the morn the feather'd sylvans sing ; 

And in the lower grove, as on the rising knoll, 

Upon the highest spray of ev'ry mounting pole, 

Those quiristers are perch'd with many a speckled breast : 

Then from her burnish'd gate the goodly glittering East 

Gilds every lofty top, which late' the humorous Night 

Bespangled had with pearl, to please the Morning's sight ; 



TROCHAIC MEASURES. 727 

On which the mirthful quires, with their clear open throats, 
Unto the joyful morn so strain their warbling notes 
That hills and valleys ring, and even the echoing air 
Seems all composed of sounds about them every where. 

Drayton. 

IAMBIC HEPTAMETER. 

Formula x ax7. 
§ 641. In the following extract the lines are composed of 
seven Iambics. 

She sits' | beneath' | the el'|der shade' | in that' | long mor'|tal swoon', 

And piteously on her wan cheek looks down the gentle moon ; 

And when her senses are restored, whom sees she at her side 

But her, believed in childhood to have wander' d off and died! 

In these small hands, so lily-white, is water from the spring, 

And a grateful coolness drops as from an angel's wing ; 

And to her mother's pale lips her rosy lips are laid, 

While these long, soft eye-lashes drop tears on her hoary head. 

She stirs not in her child's embrace, but yields her old gray hairs 

Unto the heavenly dew of tears, the heavenly breath of pray'r; 

No voice hath she to bless her child till that strong fit go by, 

But gazeth on the long-lost face, and then upon the sky. 

The Sabbath morn was beautiful, and the long Sabbath day ; 

The ev'ning star rose beautiful when daylight died away ; 

Morn, day, and twilight, this lone glen flow'd over with delight, 

But the fullness of all mortal joy hath bless'd the Sabbath night ! 

Wilson. 

Formula x a x 7+ . 
In this extract there are seven Iambics and an additional syl- 
lable. 

Had El'|len lost' | her mirth' 1 | Oh no' ! | but she' | was seldom cheer'|ful ; 
And Edward look'd as if he thought that Ellen's mirth was fearful : 
So gentle Ellen now no more could make this sad house cheery ; 
And Mary's melancholy ways drove Edward wild and weary. 

Coleridge. 

TROCHAIC MEASURES. 
TROCHAIC MONOMETER. 

Formula a x. 
§ 642. In the following extract the accented lines are com- 
posed of a single Trochee. 

From walk to walk, from shade to shade ; 
From stream to purling stream convey'd, 



728 POETICAL FORMS. 

Through all the mazes of the grove, 
Through all the mingling tracks I rove, 

Turning, 

Burning ; 

Changing, 

Ranging ; 
Fall of grief and full of love ! — Addison. 

Formula a x x . 
In this extract there is in the accented lines one Trochee, 
with an additional syllable. 

What sounds were heard ? 
What scenes appear'd 
O'er all the dreary coasts'? 

Dread'ful gleams, 

Dis'mal screams ; 

Fires' that glow, 

Shrieks' of woe ; 

Sullen moans, 

Hollow groans ; 
And cries of tortured ghosts ! — Pope. 

TROCHAIC DIMETER. 

Formula axx2. 
§ 643. In the following extract the accented lines consist of 
two Trochees. 

On a bank, beside a willow, 

Heaven her covering, earth her pillow, 

Sad Aminta sigh'd alone ; 
From the cheerless dawn of morning, 
Till the dews of night returning, 
Sighing, thus she made her moan : 
Hope' is banlsh'd, 
Joys' are van'ish'd ; 
Damon, my beloved, is gone ! — Drydkn. 

Formula a x x 2 + . 
In this extract there are in the accented lines two Trochees 
and an additional syllable. 

All' that's | bright' must | fade : 

The brightest still the fleetest ; 
All' that's bright' must fade, 

But to be lost when sweetest. 
Stars' that shine' and fall, 

The flower that drops in springing ; 



TROCHAIC MEASURES. 729 

These, alas ! are types of all 

To which our hearts are clinging. 
All that's bright must fade : 

The brightest still the fleetest ; 
All that's sweet was made 

But to be lost when sweetest ! — Moore. 

TROCHAIC TRIMETER. 

Formula axxS. 
§ 644. In the following extract the accented lines are com- 
posed of three Trochees. 

When' a|round' thee, | dy'ing, 
Au'tumn leaves' are ly'ing, 

Oh then remember me ! 
And' at night' when gaz'ing 
On' the gay' hearth blaz'ing, 

Oh still remember me ! 
Then' should mu'sic, steal'ing 
All' the soul' of feel'ing, 
To' thy heart' appealing, 

Draw one tear from thee ; 
Then let memory bring thee 
Strains' I used' to sing' thee, 

Oh remember me ! — Moore. 

Formula a x x 3 4- . 
In each of these lines there are three Trochees and an addi- 
tional syllable. 

Un'der|neath' this | mar'ble | hearse 

Lies' the sub'ject of all verse : 

Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother ; 

Death, ere thou hast slain another 

Learn'd', and fair', and good' as she, 

Time' shall throw' his dart' at thee ! — Ben Jonson. 

^TROCHAIC TETRAMETER. 

Formula a x x 4. 
§ 645. The accented lines are composed of four Trochees. 

Then' her | coun'te|nance' all | ov'er 

Pale again as death did prove ; 
But' he clasp'd' her like' a lov'er, 

And he cheer'd her soul with love. 
So' she strove' against' her weak'ness, 

Though at times her spirit sank ; 
Shaped' her heart' with wom'an's meek'ness 

To all duties of her rank. 



730 POETICAL FORMS. 

And' a gen'tle con'sort made' he ; 

And her gentle mind was such 
That' she grew' a no'ble la'dy, 

And the people loved her much. 
But' a trouble weigh 'd' upon' her, 

And perplex'd her night and morn, 
With' the bur'den of an hon'or 

Unto which she was not born. — Tennyson. 

Formula a x x 4 + . 
The accented lines consist of four Trochees and an additional 
syllable. 

Turn thee, fond mother ! 

From thy dead, oh turn! 
Linger not, young brother, 
Here to dream and mourn. 
Only j kneel' once | more' a| round' the f sod, 
Kneel', and bow' submit' ted hearts' to God ! 

Mrs. Hemans. 

TROCHAIC PENTAMETER. 

Formula a x x 5. 

§ 646. The accented lines consist of five Trochees. 

Then methought I heard a hollow sound 
Gathering up from all the lower ground, 
Nar'rowing | in' to | where' they | sat' as|sem'bled, 
Low', vo|lup'tuous | mu'sic | wind'ing | trem'bled, 
Woven in circles. They that heard it sigh'd, 

Panted hand-in-hand, with faces pale, 
Swung themselves, and in low tones replied ; 
Till the fountain spouted, showering wide 

Sleet of diamond-drift and pearly hail : 
Then the music touclfd the gates, and died ! — Tennyson - . 

TROCHAIC HEXAMETER. 

Formula axx6. 
§ 647. The following lines are composed of six Trochees. 

" On' a | mount'ain, | stretch'd' be|neath' a | hoa'ry | willow, 
Lay' a shep'herd swain', and view'd' the rolling billow. 1 ' 

TROCHAIC H E P T A M E T E R. 

§ 648. Formula axxl + . 

Here' a[bout' the | beach' I | wan'der'd, | nour'ish|ing' a | youth' sublime 
Willi the fairy tales of science, and the long results of time ; 



ANAPESTIC MEASURES. 731 

When the centuries behind me like a fruitful land reposed; 

When I clung to all the Present for the promise that it closed ; 

When 1 dipp'd into the Future far as human eye could see, 

Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be : 

In the spring a feeble crimson comes upon the robin's breast ; 

In the spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another nest ; 

In the spring a livelier iris changes on the banish'd dove ; 

In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love : 

Then her cheek was pale and thinner than should be for one so young, 

And her eyes on all my motions with a mute observance hung. 

And 1 said, " My cousin Amy, speak, and speak the truth to me ;" 

" Trust me, cousin, all the current of my being sets to thee !" 

Tennyson. 

ANAPESTIC MEASURES. 
ANAPESTIC MONO METER. 

Formula x x a. 
§ 649. Each of the following lines consists of a single Anapest. 

" In a sweet' 
Resonance'' 
All their feet' 

In the dance' 
All the night' 
Tinkled light'." 

ANAPESTIC DIMETER. 

Formula x x a x 2. 
§ 650. Each of the following lines is composed of two Ana- 
pests. 

" In my rage' | shall be seen' 
The revenge' of a queen' !" 

Formula x x a 2 + . 
In the following lines there are two Anapests and an addi- 
tional syllable. 

He is gone' | on the mount'|ain, 

He is lost' to the for'est, 
Like a summer-dried fountain, 

When our need was the sorest : 
Like the dew on the mountain, 

Like the foam on the river ; 
Like the bubble on the fountain, 

Thou art gone, and forever! — Scott. 



732 POETICAL FORMS. 

ANAPESTIC TRIMETER. 

Formula x x a x 3. 
§ 651. In the following accented lines there are three Ana- 
pests. 

Oh ye woods' | spread your branch' [es apace' ; 

To your deepest recesses I fly ; 
I would hide' with the beasts' of the chase' ; 

1 would vanish from every eye ! 
Yet my reed shall resound through the grove 

With the same sad complaint it begun ; 
How she smiled, and I could not but love : 
Was faithless, and I am undone ! — Shenstone. 

ANAPESTIC TETRAMETER. 

Formula x x a x 4. 

§ 652. In the following lines there are four Anapests. 

Through the depths' | of Loch Kat'|rine the steed' | shall career' ; 

O'er the Peak' of Ben Lo'mond the galley shall steer' ; 

And the rocks of Craig Royston like icicles melt, 

Ere our wrongs be forgot, or our vengeance unfelt ! — Scott. 

Formula x x a x 4+ . 
Here there is an additional syllable. 

If they rob' | us of name' | and pursue' | us with bea'|gles, 
Give their roof to the flame and their flesh to the eagles, 
While there's leaves in the forest and foam on the river, 
MacGregor, despite them, shall flourish forever ! — Scott. 

AMPHIBRACH MEASURES. 
AMPHIBRACH MONO METER. 

Formula x a x. 
§ 653. The accented lines are composed of a single Amphi- 
brach. 

Whisperings heard by wakeful maids, 
To whom the night-stars guide us ; 
Stolen walks through moonlight, 
With those we love beside us : 
Hearts beat'ing 
At meet'ing ; 
Tears starting 
At part'ing ; 
Oh sweet youth, how soon it fades ! 
Sweet joys of youth, how fleeting ! — Moore. 



AMPHIBRACH MEASURES. 733 



AMPHIBRACH DIMETER. 

Formula x a x x 2. 
§ 654. The accented lines are composed of two Amphibrachs. 

The black' bands | came o'ver 

The Alps and their snow ; 
With Bour'bon, | the rov'er, 
They pass'd the broad Po : 
We [have] beat'en all foe'men, 
We [have] captured a king ; 
We [have] tnrn'd' back on no' men, 
And so let us sing : 

The Bour'bon forev'er ! 
Though penniless all, 
We'll [have] one' more endeav'or 
At yonder old wall. — Byron. 

AMPHIBRACH TRIMETER. 

Formula x a x x 3. 
§ 655. The accented lines are composed of three Amphibrachs, 

A con'quest, | how hard' and | how glo'rious ! 
Though fate had fast bound her 
With Styx nine times round her ! 
Yet mu'sic and love' were victo'rious ! — Pope. 

Formula x a x x 3— . 
Here one syllable is wanting. 

Ye shep'herds, | so cheer'ful | and gay', 

Whose flocks never carelessly roam, 
Should Corydon's happen to stray, 

Oh call the poor wanderers home. 
Allow me to muse and to sigh, 

Nor talk of the change that ye find ; 
None once was so watchful as I ; 

I have left my dear Phyllis behind. — Shenstone. 

AMPHIBRACH TETRAMETER. 

§ 656. Formula x a x x 4. 

[Thanks], my lord', for | your ven'ison ; | for fin'er | nor fat'ter 

Ne'er ranged' in the for'est nor smoked' on the plat'ter : 

The flesh was a picture for painters to study, 

The fat was so white and the lean was so ruddy. 

[Though] my stomach was sharp, I could scarce help regretting 

To spoil such a delicate picture by eating. — Goldsmith. 



734 POETICAL FORMS. 

Formula x a x x 4— . 
The accented lines are composed of four Amphibrachs, want- 
ing one syllable. 

But meeter for thee, gentle lover of nature, 

To lay' down | thy head' like | the meek' mountain lamb 7 ; 

When wilder'd he drops from some cliff huge in stature. 
And draws' his | last sob' by | the side' of | his dam'. 

And more stately thy couch by this desert lake lying, 

Thy obsequies sung by the gray plover flying, 

With one faithful friend to witness thy dying, 

In the arms of Helvellyn and Catchedicam. — Scott. 

DACTYLIC MEASURES. 
DACTYLIC MONOMETER. 

§ 657. Formula a x x. 

" Fear'fully, 
Tear'fully, 
She hasten'd on her way." 

DACTYLIC DIMETER. 

Formula a x x x 2 and a x x x 2— . 
§ 658. In the following the lines 1, 3, 5, &c, consist of two 
Dactyls, and the lines 2, 4, 6, &c, consist of two Dactyls want- 
ing the last syllable. 

Pi'broch of | Don'uil Dhu, 

Pibroch of Donuil, 
Wake' thy | wild voice' anew, 

Summon Clan-Conuil. 
Come away, come away ! 

Hark to the summons ! 
Come in your war-array, 

Gentles and commons ! 
Come from the deep glen, and 

From mountain so rocky ; 
The war-pipe and pennon 

Are at Inverlochy. 
Come every hill-plaid, and 

True heart that wears one ; 
Come every steel blade, and 

Strong hand that bears one ! 
Leave untended the herd, 

The flock without shelter ; 
The corpse uninterr'd, 

The bride at the altar ; 



DACTYLIC MEASURES. 735 

Leave the deer, leave the steer, 

Leave nets and barges ; 
Come with your fighting gear, 

Broadswords and targes ! 
Come as the winds come, when 

Forests are rended ; 
Come as the waves come, when 

Navies are stranded : 
Faster come, faster come, 

Faster and faster ! 
Chief, vassal, page, and groom, 

Tenant and master. 
Fast they come, fast they come : 

See how they gather ! 
Wide waves the eagle plume, 

Blended with heather. 
Cast your plaids, draw your blades ; 

Forward each man set ! 
Pibroch of Donuil Dhu, 

Knell for the onset ! — Scott. 

DACTYLIC TRIMETER. 

§ 659. Formula a xxxS and a xxxS—, 

"Peace' to thee, isle' of the o'cean! 

Peace' to thy breez'es and billows 1" 

DACTYLIC TETRAMETER. 

§ 660. Formula axxx<±. 

Hail to the chief who in triumph advances ! 

Hon'or'd and | bless'M be the | ev'er-green | pine ! 
Long' may the tree' in his ban'ner that glanc'es 
Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line I 

Heaven send it happy dew, 

Earth lend it sap anew, • 

Gayly to bourgeon and broadly to grow ; 

While every Highland glen 

Sends our shout back agen, 
" Roderigh Vich Alpine Dhu, ho ! ieroe !" — Scott. 

DACTYLIC HEXAMETER. 

§ 661. The last line in each verse is a Spondee. The accent- 
ed lines have five Dactyls. 

This' is the | for'est pri|me'val ; but | where' are the | hearts' that be|neath it 
Leap'd' like the roe', when it hears' in the wood'land the voice' of the hunts- 
Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers 1 [man ? 



736 POETICAL FORMS. 

Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands, 
Darken'd by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of Heaven 1 

Longfellow. 



CHAPTER III. 

COMBINED MEASURES. 



THE SPENSERIAN STANZA. 

§ 662. This consists of nine Iambic lines, the eight first be- 
ing Heroics, and the ninth an Alexandrine. The law of the 
rhyme may he seen in the following : 

I care not, Fortune, what you me deny : 

You can not rob me of free Nature's grace ; 
You can not shut the windows of the sky, 

Through which Aurora shows her bright'ning face ; 

You can not bar my constant feet to trace 
The woods and lawns by living stream at eve ; 

Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace, 
And I their toys to the great children leave : 
Of fancy, reason, virtue, naught can me bereave. — Thomson. 

A Stanza is a combination of several lines constituting the 
regular division of a poem. 



§ 663. The formula for the odd lines is x ax3+; for the 
even lines, x a x 3. The rhymes are alternate, and the odd 
rhymes double. 

" 'Twas when the seas were roaring 
• With hollow blasts of wind, 

A damsel lay deploring, 

All on a rock reclined ; 
Wide o'er the foaming billows 

She cast a wistful look ; 
Her head was crown'd with willows, 
That trembled o'er the brook.'' 

ELEGIAC OCTOSYLLABICS. 

§ 664. These are the same as the common octosyllabics (see 
§ 637), except that the rhymes are regularly alternate, and the 
verses are arranged in stanzas. 



COMBINED MEASURES. 737 

And on her lover's arm she leant, 

And round her waist she felt it fold ; 
And far across the hills she went, 
; . In that new world which now is old : 
Across the hills and far away, 

Beyond their utmost purple rim ; 
And deep into the dying day 

The happy princess followed him. — Tennyson. 

OCTOSYLLABIC COUPLETS. 

§ 665. Four measures, x a, with pairs of rhymes. See § 637. 

OCTOSYLLABIC TRIPLETS. 

$ 666. Four measures, x a, with three rhymes regularly in 
succession, 

A still, small voice spake unto me : 
" Thou art so full of misery, 
Were it not better not to be V 

Then to the still, small voice I said : 

" Let me not cast in endless shade 

What is so wonderfully made !" — Tennyson. 

HEROIC COUPLETS. 

§ 667. Five measures, x a, with pairs of rhymes. See § 638. 

HEROIC TRIPLETS. 

§ 668. Five measures, x a, with three rhymes in succession. 

By this the brides are waked, their grooms are dress'd ; 

All Rhodes is summon'd to the nuptial feast : 

All but myself, the sole unbidden guest. — Dryden. 

ELEGIAC HEROICS. 

§ 669. These are the same as the common heroics, except that 
the lines regularly alternate, and are arranged in stanzas. 
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, 

The lowing herds wind slowly o'er the lea ; 
The plowman homeward plods his weary way, 
And leaves the world to darkness and to me. — Gray. 

RHYME ROYAL. 

§ 670. Seven lines of heroics, with the last two rhymes in 
succession, and the five first recurring at intervals. It admits 
of varieties, according to the distribution of the five first rhymes. 

A A A 



738 POETICAL FORMS. 

For, lo ! the sea that fleets about the land, 

And like a girdle clips her solid waist, 
Music and measure both doth understand 
For his great crystal eye is always cast 
Up to the moon, and on her fixeth fast ; 
And as she in her pallid sphere, 
So danceth he about the centre here. — Sir John Davis. 

§ 671. O T T A V A R 1 M A. 

Morgante had a palace in his mode, 

Composed of branches, logs of wood, and earth, 

And stretch'd himself at ease in this abode, 
And shut himself at night within his berth. 

Orlando knock'd, and knock'd again, to goad 
The giant from his sleep ; and he came forth 

The door to open like a crazy thing, 

For a rough dream had shook him slumbering. — Byron. 

§ 672. T E R Z A R I M A. 

Many are poets who have never penn'd 

Their inspiration, and, perchance, the best : 
They felt, and loved, and died, but would not lend 
Their thoughts to meaner beings ; they compress'd 

The God within them, and rejoin'd the stars 
Unlaurel'd upon earth, but far more bless'd 
Than those who are degraded by the jars 
Of passion, and their frailties linked to fame, 

Conquerors of high renown, but full of scars. — Byron. 

ALEXANDRINES. 

§ 673. Six measures, x a, with rhyme. The name is said to 
be taken from the fact that early romances upon the deeds of 
Alexander of Macedon, of great popularity, were written in this 
metre. See § 639. 

BALLAD STANZA. 

§ 674. This consists of four lines. The first is composed of 
four Iambics, formula x axA. The second is composed of three 
Iambics, formula x a x 3. The third and fourth are like the 
j&rst and second. 

The Past and Present here unite 

Beneath Time's flowing tide ; 
Like footprints hidden by a brook, 

But seen on either side. — Longfellow. 



COMBINED MEASURES. 739 



§ 675. EHOMBIC MEASURES. 

Ah me! 

Am I the swain 

That, late from sorrow free, 

Did all the cares on earth disdain ? 

And still untouch'd, as at some safer games, 

Play'd with the burning coals of love and beauty's flames ? 

Was't I could drive and sound each passion's secret depth at will, 

And from those huge o'erwhelmings rise by help of reason still? 

And am I now, O heavens! for trying this in vain, 

So sunk that I shall never rise again? 

Then let despair set sorrow's string 

For strains that doleful be, 

And I will sing 

Ah me ! Wither. 

COMMON METRE. 

§ 676. The first line consists of four Iambics, formula xax4. 
The second line consists of three Iambics, formula x ax3. The 
stanza consists of four lines, which rhyme alternately. 

Happy the heart where graces reign, 

Where love inspires the breast ; 
Love is the brightest of the train, 

And strengthens all the rest. — Watts. 

LONG METRE. 

§ 677. The four lines which compose a stanza are of equal 
length, each consisting of four Iambics, the formula being xax4=. 
The lines rhyme sometimes alternately and sometimes in coup- 
lets. 

The billows swell, the winds are high, 

Clouds overcast my wint'ry sky ; 

Out of the depths to Thee I call ; 

My fears are great, my strength is small. — Cowper. 

short metre. 
§ 678. The stanza consists of four lines. The first, second, 
and fourth consist of three Iambics ; the formula is x a x 3. The 
third of four Iambics ; the formula is x a x 4. 

I love thy kingdom, Lord, 

The house of thine abode ; 
The Church our bless'd Redeemer saved 

With his own precious blood ! — Dwight. 



740 POETICAL FORMS. 



HALLELUJAH METRE. 

§ 679. The stanza consists of eight lines. The first four con- 
sist of three Iambics ; the last four of two Iambics. 

Yes, the Redeemer rose ! 

The Savior left the dead ; 
And o'er our hellish foes 

High raised his conquering head : 
In wild dismay, 
The guards around 
Fall to the ground, 
And sink away. — Doddridge. 

Besides these, there are Combinations of Iambic Measures, 
Trochaic Measures, and Anapestic Measures. Each kind can 
be easily ascertained from the descriptions already given. 



EXERCISES UNDER PART VIII. 

POETICAL ANALYSIS. 

§ 680. Poetical Analysis is that process by which the Poet- 
ical Forms of a passage are distinguished and named according 
to their descriptions in Part VIII. 

EXAMPLES. 

1 Bird of the wilderness, 

Blithesome and cumberless, 
Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! 

Emblem of happiness, 

Bless'd is thy dwelling-place, 
to abide in the desert with thee ! 

Wild is thy lay and loud, 

Far in the downy cloud, 
Love gives it energy, love gave it birth ; 

When on thy dewy wing, 

Where art thou journeying? 
Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth. — Hogg, 

The first and second lines are each composed of two dactyls. 
A dactyl consists of one accented and two unaccented syllables. 
See § 622. The third line is composed of three dactyls and 
an additional syllable. The fourth and fifth, the seventh and 
eighth, the tenth and the eleventh, are like the two first. The 



SYNTHESIS. 741 

sixth, ninth, twelfth, are like the third, the twelfth having an 
additional syllable at the commencement. 

Analyze the following, and state what are the feet composing 
the several lines, and what are the definitions of the several feet 
which enter into the composition of the lines; what are the 
rhymes, if any, and what are the number of lines that compose 
a stanza, 

2. If I had thought thou couldst have died, 

I might not weep for thee ; 
But I forgot, when by thy side, 

That thou couldst mortal be. 
It never through my mind had pass'd 

The time would e'er be o'er, 
And I on thee should look my last, 

And thou shouldst smile no more. — WoLFE. 

3. High on a throne of royal state, which far 
Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Ind, 

Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, 
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, 
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised 
To that bad eminence. — Milton. 

4. Triumphal arch ! that fill'st the sky 

When storms prepare to part, 
I ask not proud philosophy 
To teach me what thou art. 

Still seem, as to my childhood's sight, 

A midway station given 
For happy spirits to alight, 

Between the earth and heaven. — Campbell* 

SYNTHESIS. 

1. Compose a line or more of Iambics. 

2. Compose a line or more of Trochees. 

3. Compose a line or more of Anapests. 

4. Compose a line or more of Amphibrachs. 

5. Compose a line or more of Dactyls. 

6. Compose or select a Spenserian stanza. 

7. Compose or select a stanza of Gay's measure. 

8. Compose or select a stanza of Elegiac Octosyllabics. 

9. Compose or select a Ballad stanza. 

10. Compose or select a stanza of Elegiac Heroics. 



PUNCTUATION. 



DEFINITION. 



§ 681. Punctuation, from the Latin punctum, a point, is the 
art of dividing written composition by points or stops, for the 
purpose of marking the different pauses which the sense and the 
pronunciation require. 

What is the true principle of punctuation ? One opinion on 
this point is, that it is the business of punctuation to divide 
written language into such portions as a correct speaker 
would divide it into. This opinion is supported by historical 
reasons found in the practice of old manuscripts, and by the in- 
creased facilities which this mode of punctuation affords to the 
public reader. This view of punctuation is the Rhetorical view. 

The other opinion on this point is, that punctuation should 
attend only to the Grammatical structure of a sentence, and 
should never separate the subject from the predicate, or the 
case governed from the verb that governs it. Such was the 
opinion of the critic caricatured by Sterne. " And how did Gfar- 
rick speak the soliloquy?" "Oh! against all rule," says the 
critic ; " most ungrammatically . Between the nominative case, 
which your lordship knows should govern the verb, he suspended 
his voice a dozen times, three seconds and three fifths, by a stop- 
watch, my lord, each time." 

The current practice is generally more in accordance with the 
grammatical than the rhetorical view. The following are the 
common rules, though there is considerable diversity among au- 
thors and printers in their application. 

THE COMMA {,). 

§ 682. The comma (,) denotes the smallest division in the 
construction of sentences on the printed page, and the shortest 
pause in reading. 



744 PUNCTUATION. 

Rule I. 

A comma should not come in between the subject or nomi- 
native and the verb or predicate; as, "America claimed nothing 
but her independence." 

Exception 1. When the subject of a simple sentence is ac- 
companied by several adjuncts, a comma should be introduced 
immediately before the verb ; as, " The injustice and barbarity 
of this censure on all former editors of the New Testament, will 
appear," &o. 

Exception 2. When the connection between a subject and 
the verb is interrupted by one or more important words, a com- 
ma should be inserted both before and after them : " To do good, 
if we have the opportunity, is our duty, and should be our hap- 
piness." 

EX AMPL ES. 

1. The book is the author's pledge to immortality. 

2. The friend of order has made half his way to virtue. 
Exception 1. The weakest reasoners among my aquaintance, 

especially on the subject of religion, are generally the most pos- 
itive. 

Exception 2. His style, in point of grammatical construction, 
is open to endless objection. 

Rule II. 

Two or more words in the same construction are separated by 
a comma; as, "Reason, virtue, answer one great aim;" "We 
are fearfully, wonderfully framed." 

Exception. When the two words, however, are closely con- 
nected by a conjunction, no comma is admitted between them ; 
as, " The study of natural history expands and elevates the 
mind." But if the parts connected are not short, the comma 
may be inserted ; as, " Intemperance destroys the strength of 
our bodies^ and the vigor of our minds? 

EXAMPLES. 

1. A woman sensible, gentle, well educated, and religious. 

2. In a letter, we may advise, exhort, comfort, and request. 



THE COMMA. 745 

Exception. But Frederick was too old and too cunning to "be 
caught, and the ambitious and far-seeing Catharine had ulterior 
views of her own. 

Rule III. 

When words in the same construction are joined in pairs by 
a conjunction, they are separated in pairs by a comma; as, 
" Hope and fear, pleasure and pain, diversify our lives." 

E X AMPLE. 

A Christian spirit may be manifested either to Greek or Jew, 
male or female, friend or foe. 

Rule IV. 

Expressions in a direct address, the Nominative Absolute, the 
Infinitive Absolute, the Participle Absolute, and words like hence, 
besides, first, are separated by commas from the body of the 
sentence; as, "Come hither, Hubert;" "His father dying, he 
succeeded to the estate;" " To do her justice, she was a good- 
natured, reasonable woman ;" " Properly speaking, he is guilty 
of falsehood ;" " Besides, the issue is doubtful." 

EXAMPLES. 

1. John, will you obtain the work from the library ? 

2. The city being taken, we fortified it with great care. 

3. To speak confidentially, he has ruined himself. 

Rule V. 

Nouns in Apposition, when accompanied with adjuncts, and 
Nouns attended by Participles or Adjectives with dependent 
words, are separated by a comma ; as, " Paul, the Apostle of the 
Grentiles, was eminent for his zeal and knowledge ;" " The king, 
approving the plan, put it in execution ;" " But he, anxious to 
refer the cause to arbitration, refused." 

Exception. But if such nouns are single, or form only a prop- 
er name, they are not divided ; as, " Paul the Apostle suffered 
martyrdom." 



746 PUNCTUATION. 

EXAMPL ES. 

1. That distinguished patriot, Benjamin Franklin, was at the 
court of St. Cloud. 

2. Humboldt, the great philosopher, resides at Berlin. 
Exception. Wellington the statesman died in 1851. 

Rule VI. 

When sentences contain correlative words, and have each a 
nominative and a verb expressed, they are separated by a com- 
ma; as, " Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a 
stalled ox and hatred therewith." 

Exception. But when the correlative expressions belong to 
one and the same sentence, the comma should be omitted \ as, 
" How much easier is it to get wisdom than gold !" 

EXAMPLES. 

1. As virtue is its own reward, so vice is its own punishment. 

2. How much easier is it to go with the popular current, than 
it is to oppose public opinion ! 

Exception. The child in the humble walks of life is as richly 
gifted as in the highest. See Wilson, p. 73. 

Rule VII. 

Words placed in opposition to each other, or with some marked 
variety, require to be distinguished by a comma ; as, " Though 
deep, yet clear ; though gentle, yet not dull." 

examples. 

1. The goods of this world were given to man for his occa- 
sional refreshment, not for his chief felicity. 

2. It is the province of superiors to direct, of inferiors to obey. 

Rule VIII. 

A remarkable expression or short observation, somewhat in 
the manner of a quotation, should be marked with a comma ; 
as, " It hurts a man's pride to say, I don't know." 



THE COMMA. 747 



EXAMPLES. 

1. Vice is not of such a nature that we can say to it, Hither- 
to shalt thou come, and no farther. 

2. "We are strictly enjoined, " not to follow a multitude to do 
evil." 

Rule IX. 

Relative Pronouns generally admit a comma before them, ex- 
cept when closely connected with the antecedent; as, "He 
preaches sublimely, who lives a sober, righteous, and pious life ;" 
" Self-denial is the sacrifice, which virtue must make." 

EXAMPLES. 

1. The gentle mind is like the still stream, which reflects 
every object in its just proportion and in its fairest colors. 

2. He, who is good before invisible witnesses, is eminently so 
before the visible. 

Rule X. 

"When an Infinitive Mode or a sentence is a subject, but is 
placed after the verb, it has generally a comma before it. 

EX AMPL E S. 

1. It ill becomes good and wise men, to oppose and degrade 
one another. 

2. Charles's highest enjoyment, was to relieve the distressed 
and to do good. 

Rule XL 

When a verb is understood, a comma may often be properly 
introduced; as, "From law arises security; from security, cu- 
riosity ; from curiosity, knowledge." 

EXAMPLES. 

1. If spring put forth no blossoms, in summer there will be 
no beauty, and in autumn, no fruit. So if youth be trifled 
away without improvement, manhood will be contemptible, and 
old age miserable. 



748 PUNCTUATION. 

2. As a companion, he was severe and satirical ; as a friend, 
captious and dangerous ; in his domestic sphere, harsh, jealous, 
and irascible. 

Rule XII. 

Adverbs and adverbial phrases, in certain constructions, are 
followed by a comma, and, in some cases, are also preceded by 
a comma ; as, " First, I shall state the proposition, and, secondly, 
I shall endeavor to prove it." 

E X AMPL ES. 

1. On the other hand, be not self-confident. 

2. His high reputation, undoubtedly, contributed to his suc- 
cess. 

Rule XIII. 

A simple member of a compound sentence must be distin- 
guished by the comma ; as, " To improve time while we are 
blessed with health, will smooth the bed of sickness." 

If, however, the members of a compound sentence are very 
closely connected with each other, the comma is unnecessary ; 
as, " Revelation tells us how we may obtain happiness." 

EXAMPLES. 

1. If we delay till to-morrow what ought to be done to-day, 
we overcharge the morrow with a burden which belongs not to it. 

2. If the wind sow not corn, it will plant thistles. 

Rule XIV. 

When a verb is expressed in one member of a compound sen- 
tence, and understood in another member, its place in the latter is 
supplied by a comma ; as, " The wise man considers what he 
wants ; the fool, what he abounds in." 

EXAMPLES. 

1. Passion overcomes shame ; boldness, fear ; and madness, 
reason. 

2. War is the law of violence ; peace, the law of love. 






THE SEMICOLON.— THE COLON. 749 



THE SEMICOLON (',). 

§ 683. The Semicolon is placed between the members of a 
sentence which are not so closely connected as those which are 
separated by a comma. 

1. A semicolon is put between two parts of a sentence when 
these are divided, according to the preceding rules, into smaller 
portions. 

2. A semicolon is placed between two clauses, one of which 
is explanatory of the other. 

3. Short sentences slightly connected are separated by a sem- 
icolon. 

examples. 

1. " We can not give a distinct name to every distinct object 
which we perceive, nor to every distinct thought which passes 
through the mind ; nor are these thoughts, or even these objects, 
so entirely distinct to human conception as many persons are 
apt to imagine. If I see a horse to-day, and another horse to- 
morrow, the conceptions which I form of these different objects 
are indeed different in some respects, but in others they agree." 

2. Life with a swift, though insensible course, glides away ; 
and, like a river which undermines its banks, gradually impairs 
our state. 

3. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry ; for anger resteth in 
the bosom of fools. 

4. We may compare the soul to linen cloth ; it must be first 
washed to take off its native hue and color, and to make it white ; 
and afterward it must be ever and anon washed to preserve and 
keep it white. — South. 

the colon ( : ). 

§ 684. The Colon is used to divide a sentence into two or 
more parts, less connected than those which are separated by a 
semicolon, but not so independent as separate distinct sentences. 

1. When a member of a sentence is complete in itself, but fol- 
lowed by some supplemental remark or farther illustration of 
the subject, the colon is used ; as, " A brute arrives at a point 
of perfection that he can never pass : in a few years he has all 



750 PUNCTUATION. 

the endowments he is capable of; and were he to live ten thou- 
sand more, he would be the same thing that he is at present." 

2. When a semicolon, or more than one, has preceded, and a 
still greater pause is necessary in order to mark the connecting 
or concluding sentence ; as, " As we perceive the shadow to 
have moved along the dial, but did not perceive it moving ; and 
it appears that the grass has grown, though nobody ever saw it 
grow : so the advances we make in knowledge, as they consist 
of such insensible steps, are only perceivable by the distance." 

3. The colon is frequently used when a quotation or a speech 
is introduced ; as, " I admire this sublime passage : ' Grod said, 
Let there be light, and there was light.' " 

EXAMPLES. 

1. For the training of goodness, the ancient reliance was on 
the right discipline of habit and affection : the modern is rather 
on the illumination of the understanding. 

2. When we look forward to the year which is beginning, 
what do we behold there ? All, my brethren, is a blank to our 
view i a dark unknown presents itself. 

3. All our conduct toward men should be influenced by this 
important precept : "Do unto others as you would that others 
should do unto you." 

THE PERIOD ( . ). 

§ 685. The Period marks the completion of the sense in de- 
clarative sentences; as, "Worldly happiness ever tends to de- 
stroy itself by corrupting the heart. It fosters the loose and the 
violent passions. It engenders noxious habits, and taints the 
mind with false delicacy, which makes it feel a thousand un- 
real evils." 

The period should be used after abbreviations ; as, A.B., Dec, 
Mr. 3 etc. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. Self-control is promoted by humility. Pride is a fruitful 
source of uneasiness. It keeps the mind in disquiet. Humility 
is the antidote to this evil. 

2. Thought engenders thought. Place one idea on your pa- 



NOTE OF INTERROGATION, EXCLAMATION, ETC. 751 

per, another will follow it, and still another, until you have 
written a page. You can not fathom your mind. There is a 
well of thought there which has no bottom. The more you 
draw from it, the more clear and fruitful it will be. 

3. The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defy- 
ing though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the 
idea after which all his thoughts are classified. He can only be 
reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own. 
— -R. W. Emerson. 

NOTE OF INTERROGATION ( ? ). 

§ 686. The Interrogation point at the close of a sentence 
denotes a question. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. When shall you return from abroad ? 

2. Can our curiosity pierce through the cloud which the Su- 
preme Being hath made impenetrable to mortal eye ? 

the exclamation point ( ! ). 

§ 687. The Exclamation point is used after sudden expres- 
sions of surprise, and after invocations and addresses ; as, " How 
are the mighty fallen !" 

"When the interjection oh is used, the point is generally 
placed immediately after it ; but when O is employed, the point 
is placed after one or more intervening words ; as, 

" ' Oh ! my offense is rank, it smells to heaven.' 

" ' But thou, O Hope ! with eyes so fair.' " 

EXAMPLES. 

1. To lie down on the pillow after a day spent in temper- 
ance, how sweet is it ! 

2. Grripus has long been endeavoring to fill his chest, and lo ! 
it is now full. 

OTHER POINTS AND MARKS. 

§ 688. The Parenthesis ( ) includes a remark or clause not 
essential to the sentence, but useful in explaining it ; as, " Ev- 



752 PUNCTUATION. 

ery planet (for God has made nothing in vain) is most probably 
inhabited." 

§ 689. Brackets [ ] inclose a word or sentence which is to be 
explained in a note, or the explanation itself, or a word or sen- 
tence which is intended to supply some deficiency or rectify some 
mistake ; as, " He [Mr. Canning] was of a different opinion." 

§ 690. The Dash ( — ) marks a break in the sentence, or an 
abrupt transition ; as, " There was to be a stern death-grapple 
between Might and Right — between the heavy arm and the 
ethereal thought — between that which teas and that which 
ought to beP " If thou art he — but oh how fallen !" 

§ 691. The Caret ( A ) denotes that some word or letter has 

last 
been left out in writing ; as, " I called to see him A night." 

§ 692. The Apostrophe ( ' ) is used to denote the abbrevia- 
tion of a word ; as, His for it is. Its chief use is to mark the 
genitive case of nouns ; as, " John's hat." 

§ 693. The mark of Accent ( ' or v ) is placed over a syllable 
to denote a particular stress of the voice which is required in the 
pronunciation. The first is called the Acute accent, and is in 
use. The other is called the Grave accent, and is not much in 
use in the English language. The two united ( A ) is called the 
Circumflex. 

§ 694. A Hyphen ( - ) is employed in connecting compounded 
words; as, "Lap-dog;" " to-morrow." 

It is also used when a word is divided, and the former part is 
printed or written at the end of one line, and the latter part at 
the beginning of another. In this case it is placed at the end of 
the first line, and not at the beginning of the second. 

When each of two contiguous substantives retains each its 
original accent, the hyphen should be omitted ; as, "Master 
build' er." When the latter loses or alters its accent, the hy- 
phen should be inserted ; as, " Ship -builder ." 

When two substantives are in apposition, and either of the 
two is separately applicable to the person or thing designated, 
the hyphen should be omitted ; as, Lord chancellor. When 
they are not in apposition, and only one of the two is separately 
applicable to the person or thing, the hyphen should be inserted ; 
as, a horse-dealer, one who is a dealer, but not a horse. 



OTHER MARKS. 753 

When the first substantive serves the purpose of an adjective, 
expressing the matter or substance of which the second thing 
consists, and may be placed after it with of (not denoting pos- 
session), the hyphen should be omitted ; as, Silk gown = gown 
of silk. When the first does not express the matter or substance 
of the second, and may be placed after it with of (denoting pos- 
session), or with /or, or belonging: to, the hyphen should be in- 
serted; as, School-master, play-time, cork-screw, laundry-maid. 

Between an adjective and its substantive the hyphen should 
be omitted ; as, High sheriff, prime minister. When the ad- 
jective and its substantive are used as a kind of compound ad- 
jective to another substantive, the hyphen should be inserted 
between the two former ; as, high-church doctrine. 

When an adjective, or an adverb, and a participle immediate- 
ly following, are used together as a kind of compound adjective, 
merely expressing an inherent quality without reference to im- 
mediate action, and (in order of syntax) precede the substantive 
to which they are joined, the hyphen should be inserted ; as, a 
quick-sailing vessel. When they imply immediate action, and 
(in order of syntax) follow the substantive, the hyphen should 
be omitted ; as, " The ship quick sailing o'er the deep." 

§ 695. The mark for the long vowel ( - ) is used by being 
placed over it, as in " Rosy." The mark for the short vowel 
( ~ ) is used in the same manner, as in " Folly." 

§ 696. The Dleresis ( •• ) consists of two points, which are 
placed over one of two vowels which would otherwise make a 
diphthong, and parts them into syllables ; as, " Creator ;" " ae- 
rial." 

§ 697. The Paragraph ( IT ) denotes the beginning of a new 
topic. This character is chiefly used in the Bible. 

§ 698. The Section ( § ) denotes the division of a discourse 
or chapter into less portions. 

§ 699. Quotation Marks ( " " ) denote that the words of an- 
other are introduced ; as, " Hope springs eternal in the human 
breast." 

§ 700. The Index or Hand ( l^ 3 ) points out a remarkable 
passage. 

§ 701. The Ellipsis ( *** or ) denotes the omission of 

some letters or words ; as, K — g for king ; o ### **n for captain. 

Bbb 



754 PUNCTUATION. ^r / 

§ 702. The Asterisk ( * ), the Obelisk ( t ), the Double Dag- 
ger ( t ), and Parallels ( II ), together with Letters and Fig- 
ures, are used as references to the margin or bottom of the page. 

CAPITAL LETTERS. 

§ 703. In ancient manuscripts capital letters only were used, 
which followed one another without being divided into words by- 
spaces or into sentences by points. At a later period, nouns al- 
ways commenced with a capital, as is the practice now in the 
German language. In the use of capitals in the English lan- 
guage, there is some diversity in the practice of writers and 
printers. 

The following classes of words usually begin with capital 
letters : 

1. The first word of every book, chapter, letter, or any other 
piece of writing ; also the first word after a Period ; also the first 
word after an Interrogation point, or an Exclamation point, if 
it closes an independent sentence ; also the first word of every 
line of poetry; also the first word of a formal quotation; as, 
Remember the ancient maxim : " Know thyself." But for an 
informal quotation a capital is unnecessary ; as, Solomon re- 
marks "that pride goes before destruction" of places. 

2. Proper names ; Adjectives derived from proper names ; ti- 
tles of honor and distinction ; and Common Nouns personified : 
New York ; Roman ; General Scott ; Alexander the Great ; 
" There Honor comes a pilgrim gray." 

3. Words used as the names of the Deity ; as, God, Jehovah. 

4. Every substantive and principal word in the title of books ; 
as, "Pope's Essay on Man." The title-page of books, the pro- 
noun J, and the interjection O. 

Other words besides the preceding may begin with capital 
letters when they are emphatical, or the Principal Subject of 
discourse. Italic letters are used for distinguishing words and 
phrases which are emphatic. 



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